A Bitter End and A Fresh Start
by sittingatlukes
Summary: This story was started several weeks ago, and I kind of abandoned it. So I went back and got my muse back and added a bunch more into this first chapter and changed some things around. This is Logan/Rory story, and will take place post revival.
1. Chapter 1

The expensively dressed blonde sighed as he leaned against the wall, his black and gray pinstriped suit rumpled from the hours he had spent in what the hospital deemed the comfort room. The statement however was a lie, the small light green room was anything but. There were faded chairs lining the walls, ones that could be seen in any hospital across the country. At seemingly random spots in between chairs and in various other places in the room were cheap chipped oval particle board tables, adorned with magazines so outdated even the out of touch Logan knew the stories on the covers.

This was the last palce that the youngest Huntzburger male had thought he would be spending his Friday afternoon, but when he got a call a few hours earlier saying that his father had suffered from a heart attack while securing a business deal, he had no choice but to meet the ambulance at the hospital. His mother had whisked herself and a bottle of Gin off to the closest spa as soon as she had found out, and Logan didn't have a whole lot fo faith in her even making an appearance at the hospital. His parents might of been married, but at this point it was more for show than for any of the reasons a marriage should actually happen for. His sister had promised to come as soon as she got a sitter for her and Josh's two kids, so of course that meant Logan was at the hospital alone. Something he was finding a little hard at present time.

Logan stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before sighing and straighening into a standing position. He paced the room a couple of times before pulling his phone out of his pocket. Staring at the blank screen he mulled over the options. There was only one person he had wanted to call ever since he had arrived at the hospital. Finn, Colin and Robert hated the elder Huntzburger almost as much as Logan himself did, so they would be no help. The only person Logan had thought of calling was Rory. That's when things got muddy, he had been going back and forth with calling her or not calling her for the past few hours. This waffling back and forth was also why he was currently wearing holes in a six foot patch of ugly maroon carpeting.

Several more minutes passed, as Logan unlocked and relocked the screen on his phone several dozen times, before he finally worked up the courage to call. Hitting the green phone icon next to her name, he felt something that he rarely did- nervous. He fiddled with the buttons on his cuff as he waited for the brunette to answer. It had been four months and sixteen days since they had said goodbye last, not that he was counting or anything.

"Hel-Hello?" came the sweet yet surprised voice of Logan's ex girlfriend. There was a pause before she continued. "Logan?"

"Ace. Yeah." he said clearing his throat. Not knowing if she was going to hang up or not he decided to go ahead and say what he needed to say, in case she did. "My dad had a heart attack. I'm at the hospital in Hartford with him. I didn't know who else to call. Mom won't come. Honor is trying to get a sitter. I don't even know how to feel. I don't know what to do. I'm sorry."

"Whoa, whoa whoa. Logan slow down." Rory said. She tried to mask the surprise in her voice, but she wasn't sure that she was doing a good job. "Which hospital?"

"St. Mary's." Logan said, he found himself just as surprised by her answer, as she was by him calling. "But I just needed someone to talk to. You don't have to come."

"It's much easier to be there to listen, if I am there. Instead of the phone." She paused as she pushed away from her desk, careful to steady herself as she stood. The bulky knit sweater hid the growing baby bump for now, but he knew it was just a matter of days until she wouldn't be able to hide it from people anymore. She was thankful that for at least tonight the fact that she was growing a human inside of her was still pretty well concealed. "I mean, I'm not incredibly thrilled to be in the same room as Mithcum, but I'll come for you. I'll be there in an hour." Without waiting for a response, she ended the call. Tossed her phone in her purse and headed for her car outside.

Logan stared at his phone for several minutes after the call ended. In all honesty he had expected that call to go much worse. While things hadn't ended on a sour note when they had parted ways last, they hadn't of been what he would call good either. Running his hand through his blonde hair he took a deep breath, hoping he hadn't made a mistake calling her.

Several minutes later Rory pulled her jeep into the hospital parking lot. She took her time gathering herself together before she got out. She rested a hand on her stomach for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and getting out of the car. Slinging her purse over her shoulder she pulled her phone out and called Logan back.

"Ace!" came Logan's voice before the first ring had completed.

"I'm here, in the parking lot. Where are you?"

"Fourth floor, take a right as soon as you get of the elevators. I'm the third door on the right. I'll meeet you there."

"Are you in his room?" Rory asked, she was there for Logan, not Mitchum and if she could avoid seeing him, she would.

"No, I haven't seen him since they brought him in. It's just me."

"Okay, I'll be up in a second" She said before clicking off the phone. She entered the hospital, offered a smile and small wave to the security guard who was seated behind a wooden desk reading what looked like a battered copy of some Tom Clancy novel. She followed the signs to the elevator, and before he knew it was on the fourth floor. It only took a few seconds for her to get to the room where Logan had said he would be once she was on the fourth floor.

She took another deep breath and twisted the knob, pushing the door open, to find a very disheveled Logan staring up at her from his seated position in the coner. In the many years that she and Logan had known each other, she had seen him at his worst many times, but something about the way he looked right then while they were looking into each other's eyes was different than how she had seem him any other time. She finally broke the silence after taking a few steps into the room. "Hey."

Logan stood slowly. "Hi Ace." He stared at her for several seconds, as if he couldnt believe she was really standing there. There was something different about her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Relizing he had been quiet proabbly a little long he took a few steps and crossed the room, closing the space between them he opened his arms for a hug. Rory after about half a second of contemplation hugged him back. It was almost as it the four months since their last exchange hadn't happened. Before she lost herself in the moment and his arms too far, Rory gave one last squeeze and took a step back breaking the hug.

"So what happened?" she asked as she looked at Logan. Logan shrugged slightly before responding.

"I don't know a whole lot. He was in a merger meeting, and collapsed. His secretary called me as they were loading him into the ambulance. It was a heart attack, about three hours ago. We don't know how bad it has affected him. They are doing tests and all that."

Rory nodded slowly, it was impossible to tell by his response and tone how Logan felt about what his father was going through. The relationship between the elder and younger Huntzburger men was strained to say the least, but even so. Mitchum was still Logan's father. "Well, what can I do to help?"

"Just coming is more than enough. More than I thought you would do." Logan said as he relaxed a little bit. He didn't know why, but ever since Rory had said she was coming he had been a little tense. "I didn't expect you to come here, but thank you."

Rory flashed a small smile and nodded. "Of course Logan. I know things are weird right now between us. But I wouldn't want you to go through whatever this is by yourself. You were there when my grandpa had a heart attack. And you came to the funeral. Even when we weren't on the best of terms then."

Logan nodded. "Well, there's really no point in sitting here." He chuckled. "This is the most uncomfotable comfort room I have ever been in." He paused a classic Logan grin appearing on his face. "How about we go find some coffee?"

"Sounds good to me." Rory responded, taking the hand arm that Logan had offered before following him out the door and to the elevators.


	2. Chapter 2

"I'll have a large french roast, and whatever the lady wants." Logan said to the uninterested looking barista in the hospitals only open cafe before stepping aside to let Rory order.

"Medium decaf with half and half." she said before turning to Logan. "You know I can pay for mine."

"You know I never let you pay for coffee, unless you were the one bringing it to me." He said as he pulled out a darkly colored debit card from his wallet and inserted it in the cheap reader. "Also since when decaf?"

Rory had hoped that Logan wouldn't notice the fact that she had ordered thh less caffienated and far less tasty version of her favorite hot beverage. "Since a few motnhs ago." She responded quickly hoping it was a vague enough answer that they wouldn't have to get into a discussion behind her reasons just yet. She had always known she would tell Logan, she just hadn't epxected to see him this soon, and especially under these circumstances.

"Here Ace." Logan said a few moments later handing a steaming paper cup to the brunette. "Do you wanna hang out down here or head back up?"

Rory shrugged. "Up to you. I'm just here to boost morale."

"Well then let's enjoy being as far away from Mitchum as possible, and hang out here." Logan said with a small chuckle as she led Rory over to a black pleather couch positioned against the wall. After he and Rory got comfortable, facing each other on opposite ends of the couch. "So, what have you been up to lately Ace?"

Rory sipped at her coffee, and sputttered when it was too hot after she recovered and Logan had a laugh at her expense she ran her hand though her hair before answering Logan's question. "Still running the paper in Stars Hollow. Nothing else exciting except for Kirk and Lulu seem to be inching their way closer to getting married. Luke and my mom got married a few months ago."

Logan smiled. "I knew they would eventually. Luke and your mom I mean. The fact that Kirk is getting married is a mere miracle."

Rory smiled as she relaxed into being around Logan and the conversation. The nagging feeling of what she needed to tell him was still hovering above her like rain cloud above Winnie the Pooh,but she wasn't nearly as anxious about being around Logan as she had been earlier.

Logan watched Rory's movements, he could tell something was off. He couldn't tell if it was good or bad, but there was for sure something amiss about the brunette bombshell sitting just a matter of inches away from him. He knew better than to press her for it right now. The chances of her spilling the beans, whatever they were at that moment were slim to none. Rory who had caught Logan looking at her smiled and tilted her head. "Whatcha looking at Huntzburger?" She asked, a faint hint of the smirk he had grown to love over the years turning up the sides of her mouth.

"The one and only Rory Gilmore." He said as he grinned. After a few more seconds, he finished off his coffee tossed the empty cup into the trash can and stoop up. With a smile on his face, he held out his hand to help Rory to his feet, taking her empty cup from her to toss and then turned his attention back to her. "Well, I suppose we should go back up. Unless you have somewhere better to be."

"I'm all..." Rory started before blushing, glad she had caught herself before she added the word 'yours' to the sentence she had just started. Shaking her head she looked at him and reworded her statement. "I'm here for as long as you need me."

Logan nodded, and smiled. Sure there was something different about Rory, but inside she was still the same fiercely sweet girl that he had met at Yale many years ago. With Logan leading, the pair circled back around to the elevators, and rode them up to the floor that Micthum's room was supposed to be on, whenever they finished up with his tests. After stepping off the elevator Logan looked at Rory and nodded towards the nurses station. "I'm going to go see if anything has changed, if you want to go sit down or find a severly outdated magazine to entertain yourself until I'm done." Pausing only slightly before adding, " I won't be too long, I promise."

"Take your time, I'll go back to the room." She answered nodding towards the comfort room they had been in prior to their impromptu coffee adventure. With one last look at Logan she headed towards the room. Once inside she made her way to a chair on the otherside of the room and sat down. Pulling her phone out of her purse she quickly scrolled through her contacts until she landed on her mom's name and number. She opened a new text message and furiously typed out a message to her.

"At Hospital with Logan. Mitchum sick. Don't know how bad. Should I tell him now or wait?" She knew Lorelai would want more details, but since she didn't know how long she had until Logan would be back, she didn't want to go into said details right now. She hit the send button, and not even a minute later her phone dinged back with the response. "Tell him babe. He deserves to know."

Rory was slightly surprised at her mother's response. When she had first told the elder Gilmore girl that she was expecting a baby, and that it was indeed Logan's Lorelai had not been exactly happy. After a few days of giving her space, and Rory talking to Luke about why it had been such a big deal, she had forced her mom to have a heart to heart. Lorelai had been wanting another baby and in some way was hurt by the fact that she would be a grandma before she had another baby. It had taken Lorelai a few days to come completely around to the idea of her only child having a baby of her own, but she had eventually done so, and ever since she had been pushing Rory to tell Logan. Knowing from expereince it would only get harder the longer she waited.

Rory of course knew that her mom was right, and as much as she hated telling Logan while his dad was in the hospital and they were in the situation that they were currently in, she knew that she needed to tell him as soon as possible. She sent a response back to her mom telling Lorelai that she would call her the next day and let her know how it went and just as she was putting her phone back into her purse Logan walked into the room.

"Well?" she asked watching Logan as he crossed accross the room and took a seat near her, leaving a chair between them.

"It was actually two heart attacks. He suffered one while he was still at the office. The one that initially caused the ambulance to be called. Then he suffered another one. A smaller one once they got him here." he sighed heavily, leaning forwards and resting his elbows on his legs, his head in his hands. "They are still running tests to see how bad the damage is. He's not awake. They are going to move him up here once he's stablized and they are done with the tests. But it's still kind of touch and go." The second part of the explanation coming out a little muffled, since Logan was currently staring at the floor, trying to process his emotions the best he could.

Rory without even thinking moved to the chair that previouosly had been between them, and placed her hand on his back, rubbing small circles between his shoulders like she had done so many times in the past she sighed softly. "I don't know what to say Log. I know you two don't get along, but that's still your dad in there. And I know that even if he's not anyone's favorite person in the world, he's still your dad..." She rambled on for a minute before getting quiet.

Logan took a deep breath and raised his head looking over at Rory. "Thank you for coming. Thank you for understanding that I don't know how I feel." He sighed softly. "I've wished for so long that he would die, or that he wasn't my father that now I just don't know what I'm supposed to feel."

Rory nodded. "It's okay Logan, just talk. Or don't talk." She smiled softly. "If you need me to do something I will. Just tell me what you need me to do. I can get a hotel for the night, and stay close. There's not anything in Stars Hollow that's going to happen that needs to be in the paper in the morning. That's why we have Miss Patty." she joked, hoping to lighten the mood, even if just a little bit.

Logan shook his head, causing his usually neater blonde hair to shake just a little bit. "I'll rent a suite at the hotel on the next block. You can have the room, I'll take the couch. The nurse has my cell phone number, but she said there probably wasn't any reason for me to hang around tonight. If you're okay with hanging out with me, I'll go tell the nurses we are leaving, and book the room. Then we can head over."

Rory thought for a minute, she never really thought she would be sharing a hotel room with Logan again. But maybe it would give her the perfect opportunity to tell him about their child. She smiled over at him and nodded. "We will have to get food at some point as well." She teased.

"I take that as a yes." Logan stood, "I'll be right back. And since you came all this way just to be here for me. I'll make sure room service is still available. And we can do movies and food, the Gilmore way." he offered a small smile before making his way back to the nurses station.

While Rory sat and waited, she tried to go over how she would tell him and what exactly she would say. She had gone over the conversation a million times in her head, but she had never thought the circumstances surronding her telling Logan about their baby would be quite like the ones they currently found themselves in. Shaking her head, she took a deep breath. She didn't know exactly how he would take it, but she just hoped he wasn't mad because she had waited so long to tell him. The last thing she wanted to do was make things worse between them, or for him. Dealing with the unpredictibility of his fathers condiition was more than enough for Logan to deal with, but she knew there wasn't a perfect time to tell him what she had to tell him.

Logan appeared in the door way after a few minutes and smiled. "C'mon Ace. The hotel is all set up, we just need to stop and pick up the keys and then we can be in a room that doesn't smell faintly of bleach and jello."


	3. Chapter 3

"S"uite 108, here it is." Logan said with a smile, pointing at the handpainted sign that hung on the cream colored, expensive looking wooden door. Sliding the electronic key into the door handle. Once the green light flashed he twisted the handle and pushed the door open.

The room was expertly decorated and fit with the latest and greatest electronics. Just by first glance Rory could tell the TV cost more than her first car, the sound system in the corner probably took a degree in computers to turn on, and the coffee maker sitting on the table in the attached dining room was fancier than any of the millions she had come in contact with in her life. "Fancy scmanchy." She said as she took a few more steps into the room and looked around.

"Coudln't of said it better myself Ace." he laughed, securing the door behind them and joining her in the living room. "Get comfortable, I'll find the room service menu's and join you. Figure out how to work the tv." She said as he picked up a remote off the table next to the couch and handed it over. Rory nodded, slipping her shoes off and kicking them to the side of the room, before making her way to the overstuffed leather couch and trying to gracefully flop down on it (something that was getting increasingly harder). She pushed the power button and was met with a obnoxiously loud sound similar to that of early 2000s AOL mail. Looking behind her she grinned.

"Well it came on, so that's a start." She joked to Logan,who was headed towards her with a glossy menu in one hand and the cordless phone from table that he had got the remote off of. He watched Rory fiddle with the volume, and mash a number of other buttons before she pulled up the Netflix menu.

"I'm impressed Ace. We're not deaf, and nothing has blown up." Logan said, taking a seat on the couch and handing the menu over.

Rory frowned and then chuckled, remebering the night he was referring to. "That was a microwave and I didn't blow it up, so much as it combusted into flames and melted into a heap of broken pop tart dreams and goo." Picking up the menu she smiled. "Wow, quite the spread Huntzburger. Do you do this with all downtrodden journalist that come to your beckon call?"

Logan snorted a laugh. "Ace. You are the only journalist I would willingly spend time with." He poked the menu she was holding with the phone.

Rory batted her eyelashed and laughed. "Well, I do declare." She joked easily with him before turning her attention back to the menu. "Let's order food, and then there's something I want to talk to you about. And while this may not be the best time, I don't want to put if off any longer."

"How am I in trouble already? We've only been around each other for like two hours." He teased and then his facial expressions grew more serious. "Actually, there is something I want to talk to you abou too." He leaned over and looked at the menu she had laid in her lap. "The cheeseburgers are really good from what I remember. But the last time I was here, was with Finn and Colin and we were so drunk we left Robert at the airport. So my recollection of that night and how good the food was might be a little fuzzy."

Rory half laughed and half snorted before flipping the menu over and grinning like a little kid in a candy shop. "Chocolate chip pancakes, extra whip cream and chilli cheese fries. Please." She said handing the menu over and then adding. "Oh and sprite."

Logan laughed. "Well some things never change." He set the menu down on the coffee table in front of them before punching the buttons in on the phone for room service. After several silent seconds he placed their order. Gave whoever was on the other end of the call their room number and thanked him. After hanging up Logan set the phone on top of the menu and turned to Rory. "Thirty minutes."

"Good, I'm starved." Rory said, despite outward appearances she could feel the ball of nerves starting to bounce around in her stomach again.

"When are you not starving?" Logan asked as he fidgeted slightly where he was sitting. "So, do you want me to start. Or would you rather take the floor first?"

Rory shrugged. "I'll go first, as long as you promise not to get mad at whatever I am about to tell you." She sighed as she angled her body so she was facing him straight on.

Logan nodded and tilted his head, suddently intrigued by whatever it was Rory needed to tell him. "It can't be that bad Ace."

Rory nodded and took a deep breath, "Just promise not to get mad." After Logan nodded in response, Rory continued. "Well shortly after we saw each other last I went to the doctor because I wasn't feeling right. I had no energy, I couldn't eat anything. Smells that I used to love I hated." She paused. "I saw two doctors here in Hartford and they told me the same thing, but because I didn't beleive it or didn't want to beleive it, I went and saw Paris to confirm and well..."

"You're pregnant." Logan finished for her, his voice very quiet and all color draining from his face.

Rory nodded slowly, unable to tell what he felt about the news that she had just shared with him. "I meant to tell you sooner I really did, but at first it was too hard to even comprehend calling you and telling you over the phone. Then I called a couple of times, once she answered and once it just went to voicemail. Then I figured you would call back, and you didnt...and I'm sorry. I should of told you sooner."

Logan put her hand out and patted her on the leg. "Rory, don't be sorry. I'm not mad. Surprised yeah." He paused, "Before it completely sinks in. The baby is mine right?"

Rory laughed, half nervously and half because it was funny that he thought she had slept with anyone else. "Yes Logan, the baby is yours."

"Okay, I thought so. But I had to make sure." He whistled and leaned back, letting the full weight of the news hit him. "So that's why the decaf." He chuckled. "I knew something was up, but I never thought it would be a baby." He side glanced at her and the oversized baggy clothes she was wearing, not at all the style she usually wore. "The outfit makes sense too."

"So you're sure you aren't mad?" she asked softly.

"No Rory, I'm not mad. And I want to be a part of the baby's life. I may not have the best role model of dads, but I would like to be a part of his or her life as long as you'll let me."

Rory smiled and nodded. "Of course. If you want to be in the baby's life I would love that." She paused biting her lip for a few seconds. "But what about Odette? She's going to hate this. There's no way to hide a baby. Believe me. In a few weeks, I'll be so fat I won't be able to hide the belly with big clothes anymore."

Logan sighed and leaned forward. "Actually that was what I wanted to talk about." 


	4. Chapter 4

The words that had just slipped from Logan's lips caused a little twinge of panic in Rory. His tone told her that whatever he was about to tell her was important. A million different instances ran through the brunette's head as she gazed back at Logan, including the thought that maybe he and Odette had already gotten married, or that maybe she had gotten pregnant too.

"Okay." She said softly, unable to trust her vocie to not shake she decided a one word answer was the best.

Logan ran his hand through his hair. "It's really not that big of a deal." He paused as if searching for the correct words to say. "Odette and I were always a business arrangement. Never a couple. To the outsiders, we were." He chuckled. "We were a match made in the stars, the it couple. A dynasty." He shook his head. "But I could count on one hand how many times we actually shared a room."

Rory made a face and shook her head. "Spare me the details Huntzburger."

Logan couldn't help but laugh before he continued. "Not even like that. Anyway. I hated going along with it. But you know when I agreed to go back to my father's company, I agreed to basically be treated like a marionette. I never felt anything towards Odette. Nothing good, nothing bad. She was just this overly made up, fakely spunky girl that I posed next to in pictures and pretending to be madly in love with." He paused. "Well, a few days ago. I got to London, we were supposed to meet at "our" apartment and go to a function together that night." He sighed and then followed it with a shrug. "I was running late, I got home and found a note on the counter from her."

"Logan, your explanation is turning into a Tolstoy novel, what happened?" Rory asked.

"She broke of our engagement. Basically gave me, my dad and her dad a big eff you." Logan responded. "Said she didn't want to be a part of the plan anymore. I don't know where she went, don't really care either."

"Oh..." Rory said, not quite sure what to say. She was relieved that it didn't appear that there was another baby to worry about. She was sure Logan would give her details if she wanted them, but she didnt. She didn't know why, but she still got very jealous when it came to Logan. Always had.

"So, there is no more Odette. And I'm sure that the meeting my father was in when he had the heart attack had something to do with her leaving. In fact I wouldn't be surprsied if he blamed all of this on me, and ousted me from the company." Logan replied, leaning back and feeling more at ease now that he had shared his news. He could finally focus on the news that him and Rory were going to be parents, with a clear mind.

"I'm sure he won't completely get rid of you. But let's not worry about that now. He's in the hospital. Whatever his decsion is, isn't going to happen in the next few days." Rory said with what she had hoped was a reassuring smile.

After a few moments of silence as they both processed the last several minutes of conversation, Logan looked at Rory with a grin so wide it could put a little kid in a candy store's grin to shame. "So. You're having my baby?"

Rory nodded. "Yep. A tiny Huntzburger. A Huntz slider."

Logan shook his laughing. "Wow, Ace. That was nearly as good as my COD when we had to deal with the fish delivery man at Richard and Emily's."

"I can't believe you remember that Logan."

"I remember a lot more than you would think Ace. We had a lot of good times." Logan said almost wistfully, before shaking himself out of it and smiling. "Do you know if the baby is a boy or a girl?"

"Not yet. Next Doctor's appointment, if you want to come you can. You'll have to see Paris, which I know isn't your favorite thing to do. But she won't let me see any other doctors."

"Ace. Of course I want to come to the doctor's appointment. I want to come to all the doctors appointments. I want to do whatever I need to do." Logan said, Rory could hear the excitement in his voice.

"Huntzburger getting excited about a baby. Who'd a thunk it?" Rory said smiling widely at him. A few seconds later, a rapid knock against the door caused Logan to get up. Rory tried to follow and he shook his head.

"You stay Ace. I'll get it." he flashed a smile and made his way to the door. A few minutes of small talk with the guy delivering food later Logan returned with a cart of food. Laughing Logan rolled the cart next to the sofa and looked at Rory. "They got our orders totally wrong, but I told them it wasn't a big deal so they let us keep it."

"Ooh a surprise dinner! It's like a choose your own adventure meal." Rory said grinning, clapping her hands together in excitement.

"I forgot that no one gets quite as excited as you do when it comes to food." Logan said as looked at Rory sitting on the couch waiting eagerly to see what wonders were contained under the silver dome lids. "Which one should I open first?" he asked.

"The one in the middle. The middle of things are always good. Like the middle of Oreos. They are so much better than the outsides." she responded.

Logan laughed for what felt like the fifteenth time since Rory had shown up at the hospital, something he hadn't done in a long time. "As you wish." he pulled the silver lid off the large white dish in the center of six other dishes. Steam rose and Logan smirked as he picked the plate up, showing it off to Rory.

"Oooh mac and cheese." Rory responded. They continued the process until they had all seven dishes uncovered and spread out on the coffee table in front of them. Ribs, mashed potatoes, cheesecake, fried chicken , apple pie and nachos joined the mac and cheese.

"Holy cow, it's a food Santa miracle." Rory said as Logan grabbed two water bottles out of the fridge and joined her on the couch.

"Dig in Gilmore. We've got a feast, and you're eating for two." Logan said before the pair dug into the delicious smelling spread of food while watching an ancient episode of The Twilight Zone.


	5. Chapter 5

"Ace. Ace." Logan said in a hushed tone as he gently nudged the sleeping brunette. They had eaten their way through half of the food from room service before Rory had curled up in a ball in a corner on the couch. Logan had let her sleep while he put the food in the fridge, cleaned up the table and called the hospital to check on Mitchum. After getting word that there was no change in his dad, Logan decided to wake Rory up so she could sleep in the master bedroom. He didn't like the idea of her sleeping on the couch in her condition, even though he knew from experience that she could sleep just about anywhere.

"Whaaaaaat?" a very adorable sleepy gravely voice responded as a only half awake Rory swatted at the air.

Logan chuckled softly brushing the hair out of her eyes. "You fell asleep on the couch Ace. There's a perfectly nice bed in the other room for you to sleep in. I don't want you getting uncomfortable or sore, because I let you sleep on the couch."

"But comfy." came a slightly more awake response as Rory opened her eyes and stared up at Logan.

"But nothing. You're sleeping in the bed. Now come on, or I'll carry you in there." Logan responded.

Rory thought about it for about thirty seconds before she grudgingly sat up and frowned dramatically. "I would of been fine on the couch, you just had to spoil my party." she stuck her tongue out for effect and then laughed before standing up. "It's sweet of you to make sure that I'm comfortable." She added as she stretched.

"Shh, don't tell anyone that I can be sweet. It will ruin my street cred." Logan laughed as he looked at her. "There should be a robe and a set of pajamas in the bathroom for you. When I booked the room, I made sure that there would be something for you to wear tonight. I got a size bigger than what you usually wear."

"Huntzburger strikes again." Rory said with a soft smile. She was amazed with how caring Logan was being. She knew she shouldn't be surprised, Logan had never been perfect but for the most part he had always looked out for her. "Seriously though Logan, thank you. For all this. I could of driven home tonight. But I want to be here if you need me, and we have plenty more to talk about tomorrow regarding the baby and all that."

"I'll probably be up for a couple more hours. I want to look over some stuff for work and I'm going to try to call my mom and sister again. Come get me if you need anything." Logan said with a smile before continuing. "And you're welcome Ace. Anytime."

Rory nodded, her eyes locking on his for several seconds before saying goodnight and going to see what the master's bedroom held for her. When she pushed open the door and turned on the light she was met with a bedroom that was decorated in muted colors, greens, pink and creams. A plush flowered bedspread covered a giant king sized bed piled high with pillows, there was small dresser, with a lotion basket on top. A desk sat in the corner, a light pink chair pushed up to it. On the wall opposite the bed was a tv that matched the one in the living room. She walked through the room, and found the door leading into the bathroom. A large jacuzzi tub was in one corner and just like Logan said there was a neatly folded set of Flannel pajamas with flying pigs on them, along with a soft looking terry cloth robe. Rory smiled, striding over to grab the clothes.

Rory got dressed quickly and slipped into the bed, under the heavy comforter. Flipping on the tv she tried to get comfortable, rolled around on the vast bed for several minutes before huffing and throwing the covers off. She sat on the end of the bed, trying to listen for noises in the living room. She felt bad for Logan being out there alone. She didn't know if it was the hormones, or the being around him and the hormones, or what but she just didn't feel right about being in one of the nicer rooms she had ever been in, and he was out there on the couch. Her nap on the couch seemed to have given her a second wind, and even though the bed was super cozy and comfortable, she knew she wouldn't be able to fall asleep. She stood up and walked to the door opening it, and watching Logan for a few seconds. He was sitting on the couch, his phone in his hand staring at something on the screen. She cleared her throat and took a step into the living room. "Hey."

Logan turned his head and looked at her, and smiled. "I thought you were sleeping."

Rory shrugged as she made her way over to the couch. "I tried to lay down, but it just isn't happening. So I figured I would come see what you were doing." She tilted her head, "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Logan shook his head, and tossed his phone on the coffee table in front of him and then patted the couch next to where he sat and smiled. "Even if I was, I'd gladly let you interrupt."

Rory laughed and plopped herself on the couch, as Logan focused on her he could tell just how baggy the clothes she had been wearing earlier masked the baby bump. While her stomach wasn't huge, it was noticeable.

"Can you feel the baby move yet?" Logan asked eyeing her stomach.

"Yeah, the baby is really active. Probably praciting for jumping off cliffs like his or her daddy." Rory joked as she reached out for his hand. "Here." She guided his hand to her stomach and rested it in the middle. Within a few seconds Logan laughed and his hand jumped back.

"That was the baby!?" Logan exclaimed, his eyes wide in wonder, and a near goofy grin plastered across his face. Rory nodded laughing at his excitement. "Nothing has ever felt like that in the history of the world." He added as he moved his hand back to her stomach and felt again, this time when the baby kicked he just smiled, staring at the movement under his hand.


	6. Chapter 6

"Well, good morning Ace." Logan said from where he was standing behind the stove in the kitchen as Rory walked into the living room.

"Morning." Rory said yawning. She had showered an put on her clothes from the night before, kicking herself for taking her gym bag out of the car just a few days prior. Not that she went to the gym often, but it at least had a change of clothes in it.

Logan laughed and nodded towards the coffee pot on the counter behind him. "Already made coffee, and I ran down to the 7-11 and got stuff for breakfast. They didn't have a great selection, so I hope pancakes and sausage is okay."

Rory grinned searching the cabinets for a coffee cup, finally finding one. "Cause leftovers from last nights smorgosboard would of killed us." She said as she poured herself a cup of coffee, smelling the cup before taking a sip. "And you even made decaf. How sweet of you Huntzburger."

"Well, it's what you ordered yesterady so I figured that it was a safe bet." Logan said as he pulled the skillet off the burner and tipped the sausage onto a nearby plate. "Breakfast is ready" He said as he turned the oven off, put the skillet on a cool burner and grabbed the plates loaded with pancakes and sausage and carried them to the table. He pulled out Rory's chair for her and then took her own seat.

Rory piled her plate with pancakes and sausage before covering the whole plate in butter and syrup. "This smells delicious Logan, I forgot that you could cook." As she took a bite, she smiled. Sure it was a simple meal but it had been forever since someone had cooked for her other than her step father Just as she was going to compliment Logan on a a meal well made she heard the loud jingle of his iPhone ringing. Logan stood and in a few quick strides was across the room to pick up his phone that had been charging in the kitchen.

"Hello?" she heard him say as she continued eating. "This is him." Then a few seconds of silence. "Okay, I'll be right over." A few more words were exchanged before Logan hung up. Rory at him, waiting to see what he was abou to tell her. He frowned looking at her. "They want me to come over and talk to the doctor." He ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the counter.

"Okay, give me a minute. I'll get my shoes." Rory said grabbing a sausage link and standing up as she popped it in her mouth.

"Ace, no you don't need to come." Logan said pushing himself off the counter and making his way over to where she now stood.

"Logan, of course I'm going to come. I am here for you, you have to go to the hospital to check on your father who just had a heart attack. You're going to need someone non Huntzburger there. Might as well be me."

"I don't want you to have to deal with my father." he responded looking into her eyes. He was touched that she was there, and even more so that she was willing to accompany him to the hospital but in her situation he didn't want her to be put under stress and everyone knew being in the vincinity of Mitchum was stresfull.

"I'm pregnant, not a ticking time bomb. And I'll stay away from Mitchum. But you still need someone there for you. You aren't superman, you don't need to do this alone."

Logan walked over and wrapped his arms around her pulling her into a hug and resting his head on hers. "Thank you Ace."

After they broke the hug Rory smiled at him. "Let me grab my shoes and then we can go."

Rory wandreed off to the bedroom, grabbing her purse and slipping her feet into her shoes before reappearing in the living room. "Ready."She looked at the partially eaten breakfast they were about to abandon and then looked back at Logan. "Should we clean up?"

Logan thought for a second before shaking her head. "The staff will take care of that. We should proabbly go to the hospital and see what they want to talk to me about."

Rory nodded and followed Logan out of the suite and into the hallway. They continued to the elevators and into the lobby downstairs making small talk. As they were walking across the lobby Logan's phone rang again, as he looked at the caller ID he let out a audible groan.

"What? Who is it?" Rory asked looking at him as they exited the hotel lobby and made their way to the car. "My mother." He opened the passenger side for Rory before swiping the unlock on his phone and putting it towards his ear. "Hello." He stood on the curb looking at Rory as he answered his mom's questions. "No, I'm on the way there." a pause followed by "Are you coming or not?" Another several second long pause. "Goodbye." Logan hung up the phone and shook his head, "She's not coming. Said she needed to take care of herself in this trying time."

Rory scoffed. "Well Shira will be Shira in all situations." Logan nodded and then shook his head a second time and shrugged.

"I didn't really expect her to come. But let's get this over with and head over there." He gave a weak smile and shut the door before making his way over to the drivers side and getting in. As he buckled his seatbelt and started the car he looked over at Rory. "Thank you again for coming and doing all this for me."

Rory smiled sweetly. "Of course."


	7. Chapter 7

Rory followed Logan up to the heart ward where they were keeping Mitchum. A doctor spotted them entering his room and made his way over. "Mr and Mrs Huntzburger, I assume? I'm Doctor Davis" he asked shaking Logan's hand.

"Oh, uh we're not married." Rory said, her cheeks turning red.

"I just assumed, you came in together and were here together last night. My apologies." He flipped through a couple pages of the chart he held in his hand. "If you're not family, I can't go over his chart with you present." He said in a semi stern vocie looking at Rory.

"That's fine, I'll go down to the gift shop, come get me when you're done Logan." Rory said squeezing his hand before she made her way to the elevators to find the gift shop.

The doctor looked at Logan and nodded towards the slightly open door leading into Mitchum's room. "Let's go in there and talk. I'm afraid it is worse than we thought."

Logan followed the white coated gentleman into the small pooly decorated hospital room where his father laid covered in wires and blankets in a slightly elevated hospital bed. Shaking his head slightly he turned his attention back to the doctor.

"The tests show multiple blockages, and he needs bypass surgery. We tried to get ahold of his wife." Dr. Davis paused scanning the notes before continuing. "But couldn't get ahold of her. We need you to sign off since you are his other emergency contact."

Logan nodded, his dad had had high cholesterol and blood pressure for as long as he could remember so the current situation wasn't exactly a surprsie to him. "Of course. I'll do whatever I need to do. Will surgery happen today?"

Dr Davis nodded, "As soon as we get these papers signed and submitted, I have booked an ER for 12:30 this afternoon, it should take about four hours." He paused. "Unless we get in there and find something else. Then he will be here for about five days to recover before we can send him home. Of course those are just estimates, he could stay longer depending on how he heals, and how bad the damage really is in there. I along with my team will be performing the surgery, and we will keep you updated as much as we can throughout the surgery."

Logan nodded, absorbing what he had just heard. His dad had never really had major illness or health problems before, at least not that he knew about. The last time he had really spent any time in the hospital was when his niece and nephew were born, and before that was when Rory's grandfather had a heart attack. "Well, if you have those papers, I'll read over them and then we can go from there, I guess."

"Wait here, I'll go get the releases and forms and be right back." Dr Davis excused himself and Logan stood at the foot of the hospital bed his father laid in. Arms folded he stared at the man that had been anything but a father to him his whole life and sighed. He knew the old man couldn't hear him, and there wasn't anything Logan really wanted to say to him at the moment so he just stood there amid the beeps and whirs of the machines, watching the elder Huntzburger sleep. A few minutes later Dr. Davis returned and handed over a clipboard. Logan thanked him and walked over to a chiar, reading through the stack of pages signing and dating whem where it was notated. After several minutes he stood, and handed it back to the doctor who had busied himself checking Mitchum's stats. Logan and the doctor exchanged a few more words before Logan excused himself and headed downstairs. On the elevator ride down he pulled out his phone and sent Rory a message. "Where are you?"

Rory was sitting outside the gift shop the chair next to her full of bags when her phone beeped in her pocket. "Right outside the gift shop."

Logan found her a few minutes later and laughed shaking his head when he saw the pile of bags next to her. Approaching her he grinned. "Did a little shopping while you waited?" He asked extending his hand to help her up.

She took his hand and stood smiling. "Well no-one shops quite like a Gilmore, besides I wanted clean clothes. I found some cheesey Hartford t shirts, a pair of jeans that I paid way too much money for. Who knew they sold jeans at hospitals, and I even got you something." She laughed as she grabbed the bags and looked at him. "So what's the deal with your dad?"

Logan ran his hand through his hair, something Rory knew he did when stressed. "They are doing surgery in a few hours this afternoon. They couldn't get ahold of my mom, and so I had to sign papers. He's asleep, probably sedated until surgery. I saw him for few minutes." He shrugged. "Other than that, there's not a whole lot to report."

"So...do you want me to stay?" Rory asked as they looked into each other's eyes.

"Rory Gilmore, you know that I always want you to stay. But if you need to get back to something or someone, then you can. I'm not going to force you to stay here if you don't want to be here." Logan said softly.

Rory shook her head. "There is no-one. And I can do anything I need to do for the gazette here. I'll stay if you want me to."

"Thank you, it means more than you know for you to be willing to stay here." he glanced around and shrugged. "I can't see a reason for us to hang out here. I know that's a horrible thing to say. Any one else would be at the hospital pacing, or sitting with their father while they were waiting for him to go into surgery, but the thought of doing that seems so foreign to me. So whaddya say we go back to the hotel, and then figure out what to do while we wait."

"Sounds good to me. As long as you're sure you don't want to stick around here." Rory responded.

Logan just shook his head and they were off. As they walked to the car Logan smiled. "I have an idea of where to go after you get changed."

Rory's eyes lit up a little bit as she wondered what he was planning. "Okay, but remember I'm pregannt so no skydiving and bounce houses."

Logan laughed as they made their way to the car and he took her bags putting them in the back seat before opening the passenger side door for her. "Okay, I will make sure that neither one of us has to jump out of airplane or ends up in a bounce house."

Once they were both in the car and Logan had backed out of the parking spot he looked over at her and smiled. "I have one stop I want to make. Nothing too exciting. I'm just tired of wearing these dress pants." He said as he glanced down and the increasingly wrinkled pinstripe pants he was wearing.

Rory nodded, "Wherever you need to go. My fate is in your hands." She teased as she buckled her seatbelt and they were off.

"That makes it sound so much worse than it is. I just want to go to Gap and pick out some jeans and a couple tshirts. It looks like I am probably going to be here for a few days." Logan responded as he pulled the car out of the parking lot and glanced at Rory.

"You know, you don't have to stay here. You can come to Stars Hollow with me. My mom knew I was coming here, she told me to tell you. I'm sure she would let you come and stay at the house. You'd have to sleep on the couch, but it's better than being in a hotel."

Logan thought about what Rory had just said for almost a full minute before responding. He hadn't seen Lorelai since her father's funeral, and even then it had been in passing. They hadn't spoken since the night at Rory's graduation party when Rory had turned down his proposal. He wasn't sure things would be awkward or not,but the offer was sweet and he figured he didn't really have anything to loose. Looking at Rory as they sat at a red light waiting for it to change he smiled. "That sounds good to me. And you know me, I can sleep on any couch. I can sleep just about anywhere." He joked.

Rory smiled as she pulled her phone out and dialed from memory her mothers cell phone number. Even though it was programmed into her phone, she rarely used the contact and instead dialed it. It had been the same number since Rory was a freshman in highschool. After a few rings Lorelai answered. "Don't call me that mom." There was a pause during which Rory laughed and then asked. "Hey Logan's dad is in the hospital. They are doing surgery today and Logan was going to stay at a hotel, but I thought that was a waste of money so I offered him the couch at the house. Is that okay?" Rory listened for am minute and then with a smile on her face responded. "Thanks mmom, I'll let him know. We will be there sometime later." She said goodbye and hung up the phone before turning to face Logan who had driven them to Gap and parked while she had been on the phone. "Everything's good. She said to come whnever we were ready."

"Thanks Ace." Logan said before he shut off the car and they got out. "Just like old times, you telling me what will and won't look good."

Rory laughed as they walked into Gap together. "I still stand behind the fact that that purple shirt looked really good on you." she said referring to a shopping trip they made together years ago where they had spent twenty minutes arguing about if he should or shouldn't wear a lilac shirt she had picked out for him.


	8. Chapter 8

Nearly an hour later Logan and Rory walked out of the store, each carrying two large bags. As much as Rory had told him no Logan had insisted on buying her anything she even acted like she was interested in, and because of that Rory was carrying bags containing three new maternity outfits, a pair of ballet flats and a several tubes of chapstick in various breakfast cereal they loaded stuff into the trunk Rory smiled up at Logan. "You really didn't have to do this."

"I know Ace. But you have been greatever since you got here yesterday, so it's the least I could do." After shutting the trunk, he opened her door for her and then went around and got in. Once they were both in and belted Logan started the car and they headed back to the hotel.

In just a few minutes they gathered what little stuff they had both brought back to the hotel. After they piled it up by the door Rory put her hand on Logan's arm and looked into his eyes. "Before we head out of town, do you want to stop and see your dad?"

Logan thought about it for a minute. He had been weighing that same exact question in his mind ever since Rory had gotten the okay to bring him back to Stars Hollow. Looking at Rory he sighed. "My first response would be no, I don't want to. But, I know that I should. So yeah, on the way out of town I'll need to stop at see him. Not that he'll know that I'm there."

"Still, I wouldn't want you to regret not going." She took a deep breath and sighed before continuing. "I can't believe I am about to say this, but if it would make it easier. I will go up with you."

The shocked look on Logan's face was easy to read. He chuckled softly. "That may be the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me." He was half teasing and half being serious. "Let's go ahead and head over, see him and get it over with before we go to Stars Hollow."

Rory nodded and grabbed her stuff, before stepping out into the hallway. Logan followed directly behind her carrying the other few items they had actually brought up to the room.

Once they made it back to the lobby, Logan handed Rory the keys and told her to go ahead and get in the car and that he would handle settling the bill. Rory smiled and nodded making her way to the car, as Logan went the other way to the front desk.

Rory tossed her belongings into the backseat and then settled into the front passenger seat. She dialed Lorelai's number and laughed when her mother answered the phone.

"Hey loinfruit" came Loreali's bubbly voice on the other end of the phone call.

"I thought we discussed that you weren't going to call me that." Rory said back.

"Well, I'm the mother I get to decide these things. Anyway kiddo, what's up? We just talked to each other."

Rory laughed. "We are going to stop at the hospital so that Logan can check in with the doctors and see his dad, and then we are going to head back to the Hollow."

"How's he doing with all of that?" Lorelai asked.

"He's okay. I guess. He's Logan. His relationship with his dad hasn't gotten any better in the last few years."

"Well kiddo, tell him I hope everything goes well. I've gotta go check on something in the kitchen. We'll see you in a couple hours?"

"I will, and yep see you soon." Rory said, hanging up as she heard the drivers side door open. "Ready?" she asked looking over at Logan as he got into the car.

"Yeah." He slid his seatbelt over his body and clicked it into place before starting the car. "Let's get this over with." he said with a grimace as he once again backed out of the parking lot and headed towards the hospital.

"You know Logan, if you want to stay until they are done with the surgery we can." Rory said quietly as they rode to the hospital.

"I know Ace and I appreciate that. But you know I don't do sitting still well, and I don't see any point in me sitting in the hospital for four or five hours while they operate on him." he paused and shrugged. "I know that might make me seem cold and distant, but it's how I feel." he said, his sounding a little off or sad as he finished his sentence.

Rory nodded. "I wasn't trying to push anything. I just wanted to let you know that I would be here for morale support if you decide that you want to stay here for the surgery."

Logan smiled as he pulled into the hospital parking lot. "Thank you Ace." He eased the car into a parking spot near the doors and took his time getting out. Rory followed him when he finally entered the hospital. The ride up to the floor where Mitchum was was a silent one, Rory watched the furrow in Logan's brown grow deeper as they got closer to the elder Huntzburger's room.

"Okay Ace, here goes nothing." Logan said before pushing open the door to his fathers room. Rory followed slightly nervously behind Logan.

"Son." came a slightly creaky voice from the bed. As soon as Mitchum noticed that Rory was in the room his pasty face changed expressions, and a look that could only be explained as disspointment took over.

"Before you say anything dad, Rory is here with me. I called her yesterday because I needed someone to be here for me. You may be an island. I may pretened to be an island, but I'm not. I needed someone, and Rory was the someone I needed."

Mitchum even in his immense amount of pain rolled his eyes and then focused them on Rory. "Rory would you excuse us for a minute, I would like to talk to my son before they start pre op on me."

Rory turned to leave and Logan caught her softly by the elbow looking her in the eyes and shaking his head. "No, she will not be leaving. She came for me. If she leaves, I leave." Logan said in a voice sterner than Rory had ever come from him.

"Very well." Mitchum said. "Now I don't know if you had anything to do with Odette leaving Gilmore, but if I find out that you did, I will ruin you."

Rory looked from Mitchum to Logan and tilted her head. Logan stepped in front of Rory as if to shield her from the words that Mitchum was hurling towards her. "Whatever you have to say, get it over with. I didn't have to come back here to see you before surgery. I chose to. Now you have nothing else to say to Rory."

Mitchum shook his head and looked his son square in the eye. "Still protecting her after all these years. I always knew your emotions would get in your way." He paused, clearly having trouble breathing. "I left the disolvment of the agreemnet between our company and Odette's fathers on my desk. Make sure it gets signed and approved and goes through the right channels. Our PR team will smooth it over as best they can."

Logan showed no emotion as he continued to talk to his father. Of course the man who was getting ready to go into a life changing major surgery had nothing to say other than work. He finally nodded and took a step back from the bed. "If that's all I will check in during the surgery. Good luck."

Logan took Rory's hand in his and together they turned to leave the room, he paused at the door and turned to face his father. "And just so you know, Rory will be a part of my life for a long time to come. She wasn't what caused Odette to leave, but she is having my child." He paused to see the complete surprise and shock pass over his fathers face before adding. "Hope surgery goes well grandpa." With that he led Rory completely out of the room.

On the way to the elevator Logan stopped at the nurses station and filled them in on where he would be. He made sure that they had his cell phone number and Rory left her's as well just in case for some reason they couldn't get ahold of Logan via his.

Once in the elevator Logan breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at Rory. "I'm sorry I didn't ask you before telling him, but he was bound to find out eventually and I just couldn't take the way he reacted to you being there. It's none of his business if we are hanging out. Just like it wasn't when he saw us at lunch."

Rory shrugged and shook her head. "It wasn't under ideal circumstances, but I'm not mad."

Logan smiled. "Good, the last thing I need is you mad at me already."


	9. Chapter 9

Rory glanced over at Logan from where she sat in the passenger seat of his towncar. They had left the hospital and were headed to Stars Hollow. Rory had made sure that Logan didn't want to go back to talk to his dad before they left, when he very firmly said no and shook his head she stopped pushing in the issue.

"Whatcha looking at Ace?" Logan asked, the edges of his mouth turned up into a small smile as he glanced at her.

Rory shrugged. "Just you." She said, knowing as she said it that it sounded cheesier than she had intended it to.

"What about me?" Logan asked as he changed lanes, and pulled onto the freeway that led them from Hartford to the much smaller and thankfully slower paced town of Stars Hollow. The closer they got to the town of Rory's childhood, the more excited Logan got, and not only because he was getting to spend time with her. Stars Hollow had always been fascinating to Logan, every time he had visited he found something new that he liked. Of course it had been years since the blonde had been back and he was starting to look forward to however long he got to spend in the little town.

Rory shrugged again. "Just haven't gotten to look at you in awhile." She blushed slightly. "You look older."

"Gee thanks." Logan said following it with a chuckle.

"That's not what I meant. I mean, you don't look bad." She looked at him. "I think it's scientifically impossible for you to look good."

"I'm just teasing Ace. It's been a rough couple of months. After we parted ways last time, something snapped. I dunno,but things were pretty rough there. I guess you not being in my life affected me more than I thought it would."

Rory didn't know what to say, so she just smiled at him. After a few seconds she sighed softly. "I'm sorry for just dissapearing like that. You were with Odette, and after that night with the Life and Death Brigade it just hurt too much to be around you." She frowned. "I never wanted to share you, and for some reason after that night it made it all so much more real that, that is exactly what I was doing. I was sharing you..." Her voice trailed off as she looked out the window, trying not to let the emotion show too much in her voice.

Logan knew better, she knew the signs. The looking away meant that his brunette companion was getting emotional. He steadied the steering wheel with one hand, and reached over with his free hand grabbing hers and squeezing it. "Rory, I was stupid. I should of never agreed to any of the dynastic plan. I should of come after you when you left. I was lost. I was being stupid." He shook his head sadly and squeezed her hand again. "I'm glad I know. I'm not mad at you for not telling me sooner." He sighed. "Everything that had to do with ODette was part of my dad's master plan to make the Huntxburger name bigger in the business world. I was just a pawn in the game."

It was Rory's turn to squeeze Logan's hand. "It's over and done with. We can't go back and change it. We can sit here and talk about what we should of done, or what we could of done. But it can't be changed. We can't go back."

"Way to sound like a country song Ace." Logan said before squeezing her hand one more time before releasing it and putting it back on the wheel.

"I mean it though. Let's not worry about Odette, or any of that, and just focus on the baby, and live in the moment."

Logan nodded, he couldn't agree more. Although if he was honest with himself, he didn't want to be just friends with Rory. He had never wanted to be just friends with Rory. He decided he needed to lighten the mood, especially since they were getting closer to Stars Hollow with each passing moment. "Hey Ace, you did finally break up with Paul right?"

Rory burst into laughter, it was so sudden and such a loud burse that Logan almost jumped. She looked at him after several seconds of laugher and wiped her eyes. "Yes, and you're going to make fun of me for how I did it."

Logan raised an eyebrow, "You did it by text message didnt you?"

Rory shook her head, as her laughing fit calmed down. "No worse." She shrugged. "I did it with an e-Card."

Logan laughed. "Did you at least include a gift card or witty saying."

"Yeah, I sent him a twenty five dollar Amazon gift card, and wrote a nice little note in it."

Logan shook his head again. "Only you Ace, only you would break up with someone via an emailed card and inlcude a gift card."

"Well, it wasn't happening any other way. So at least it finally happened."

"Took you long enough." Logan snorted. "So, is this going to be weird?" Me being in Stars Hollow with you?"

Rory shrugged. "I haven't really thought about it, but it shouldn't be." She thought about it for several long seconds before she continued. "I mean, not very many people even know I'm pregant. So they will learn that and see you at the same time." She looked down. "Since it's kind of hard to hide it now, especially since I'm not going to be wearing baggy shirts anymore." She smiled. "They were going to find out about the baby eventually anyway, and I know at least a few people that will be glad to know it's yours."

Logan listened intently to what Rory was saying and became curious, cocking an eyebrow he asked. "Who all knows?"

"Sookie and Jackson. Although they don't live in the Hollow anymore. Michele knows, and mom of course. Oh and Luke. And April might know, but I'm not sure."

"April is Luke's daughter right?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah, we only see her on holidays and a handful of other times throughout the year. But she probably knows."

Logan nodded thoughtfully, "I suppose we should probably tell Honor at some point. My dad will tell mom, if he hasn't already. But Honor will kill me if she finds out from someone other than one of us."

Rory chuckled and nodded. "Okay, well lets get through getting to Stars Hollow and you seeing my mom and Luke, and then we will tell Honor."

Logan nodded as he took the exit for Stars Hollow. "You sure they are going to be okay with me being at the house?"

"Mom sounded fine when I talked to her. Luke usually just goes along with the flow. He may ask you a billion questions, but don't let that scare you. He's mostly harmless."

Logan nodded. "He's always liked me for the most part. Hopefully that hasn't changed."

Within minutes the pair found themselves pulling up in front of the house. Luke's truck was gone, which meant without a doubt that he was at the diner. The jeep was there, which meant just as Rory had expected that she had left the inn early so she would be at the house to meet them. Rory smiled over at Logan who looked suprisingly nervous. "It's going to be fine Logan, I promise."

He nodded slowly before turning the engine off and pulling the keys out. Rory got out of the car first, and waited for Logan to get out. Together they walked up to the house, Logan just a few steps behind her. Approaching the door they were surprised by Lorelai opening the door before they could knock or Rory could open it for herslef.

"Loinfruit!" She exclaimed wrapping her arms around Rory. After relasing her, she patted her daugters stomach and grinned. "Hey jellybean!" She composed herself a little nad looked at Logan. "Hey stranger. Big news eh?"

"Yes Lorelai, it was a surprise. A good one, but still a bit of a shock." Logan said with a smile.

"Well you know Rory. She always has to zig when you expect her to zag. She gets that from me" Lorelai said with a grin, before growing more serious. "I'm sorry about your dad. Have they started surgery yet?"

Logan glanced at the watch on his wrist and shook his head looking back at Lorelai. "Not yet. It's supposed to start in about an hour."

The trio moved into the house, where they caught up while Rory ate her way through a sleeve of oreos, a blueberry muffin and some cold tater tots she had found in the fridge. After bringing the luggage in, Lorelai showed Logan and Rory that Gigi's daybed was still set up on one side of Rory's childhood bedroom while her bed was on the other side. Laughing she looked at the two, "Since she's already pregnant, I don't feel like I have to warn you. Since Logan gets up at the butt crack of dawn, I figured it would be better if you both slept in here."

Logan thanked Lorelai, who after a few more minutes of small talk said that she was going run to the diner to get coffee and then head to the retirement home that she had recently bought to expand the inn. She made them promise she would meet her and Luke at the diner at 530 for dinner and then was off.

Once they were alone Rory smiled looking at Logan. "So you ready to face the town and have Ms Patty attempt to squeeze your cheeks?"

Logan laughed and raised an eyebrow. "Which cheeks?"

Rory laughed slipped out of her shoes and into a more comfortable pair of converse. "That is a very slippery slope." She walked out of her room and then looked over her shoulder. "You comin' Huntzburger?" 


	10. Chapter 10

(Here it is! Chapter 10. We have reached double digits with this story. I am proud of myself. I know the last couple of chapters have been a little boring and a little slow. But they will all be worth it soon. Here's another kind of slow chapter. There's some cutesy Rogan scenes in it though, which I am sure you will appreciate. The next chapter things will take a turn. Once again I need to edit it, which will happen tomorrow!)

"Well that was an experience." Logan exclaimed as the duo walked towards the books store. After deciding that was a good starting point for their tour of Stars Hollow. It had been several years since the blonde had last set foot in the small town that his ex girlfriend and the mother of his child had grown up in. Even so the town hadn't changed all that much. Although he did notice WiFi signs in the windows of some of the businesses.

"Well, I should of guarded you from it. But once Babette sees a guy that she likes, she sinks her teeth into you." Rory said with a small smirk as they stopped in front of the book store. Logan opened the door and then followed Rory inside.

"It's okay. Thanks for getting us out of there before she started undressing me with her eyes." he chuckled.

"Oh it was probably too late for that already. At least it was just her, and you weren't tag teamed by her and Ms Patty."

Logan stuck his tongue out at Rory and then laughed. "Gee thanks for your support."

"Anytime." Rory retorted as she led Logan towards a display of used books off to the side of the best sellers display. Shuffling through the books she pulled one out of the stack and immediately started laughing when she realized what she had chosen.

"What? What's so funny Ace?" Logan asked looking over at what she was holding.

She turned the book around so the front cover was facing him. "Asher. It's Asher Fleming's book."

Logan chuckled. "Well that's a sign if I've ever seen one." He said a twinkle in his eye. "Do you remember that day?"

Rory flipped through the book before looking up at him and nodding. "Of course I do. How could I forget. That was the first conversation we had. When you asked me to call you Master and Commander."

Logan smirked slightly. "Well I remember you actually doing so a time or two." He said nudging her.

Rory turned bright red and shoved him playfully. "Logan! This is not the place to make sexual innuendo comments."

"But it makes you blush, and you are so cute when you're embarrased." Logan teased as he gazed at her. "So, I think I need to buy that book. Baby's first book written by a creepy old guy who's now dead."

Rory laughed. "I don't think that has ever been used to describe a baby's gift before." Things with Logan were definitely going a lot easier than she could of ever dreamed, and she was so relieved. She smiled and handed the book over.

Logan looked around. "Anything else you just can't live without Ace?"

Rory shrugged and shook her head. "You've already spent too much money on me. I don't need anymore books right now."

"Those are words that I never thought I would hear you say." he smiled as he walked over the the cash register with Rory following.

"Hi Rory." Andrew said taking the book that Logan had slid over the coutner to him. "And Logan is it? I didn't know Rory and you had gotten back together."

"We aren't." Logan and Rory said almost in unison.

"Sure. Sure." Andrew said as he scanned the book and slid it into a bag. "Seven ninety five."

Logan smiled and pulled a twenty out of his wallet handing it over. After getting his change and putting it in his wallet he pocketed it and grabbed the book, telling Andrew thanks before he and Rory left the store.

"So I see that they still know who I am around here." Logan said with a mischevious smile.

"Well, I am the princess of Stars Hollow" Rory joked.

"Not the queen?"

"We both know nobody could possibly dethrone my mother of that title."

"Ah, well. Is it wierd that I'm here?" Logan asked, he loved being around Rory especially in her natural enviroment, she was so much more relaxed in Stars Hollow, but the last thing he wanted to was make her uncomfortable by being there.

"It might be to them, but to me no." She said reassuringly as she shook her head to drive her point home harder. "But you are an outsider, so I'm sure every one is going to ask you the same questions for as long as you are here."

Logan nodded and was about to respond to what Rory had said when his phone chirped in his pocket alerting him of a missed call. "Well that's werid." he said pulling it out and looking at it. "I didn't even hear it ring."

"Probably the spotty cell reception. It's not great in most of the stores here." She sighed. "Who called?"

Logan groaned as he hit the redial button and listened to it ring. "The hospital."

Rory nodded and waited to see what information he would find out on the phone call.

"Hello. I just recieved a call from you." he paused, obviously listenting to the person who answered on the other end. "That's right Mitchum Huntzburger's son." Another several seconds of silence as Logan listened to what the hospital staff member said to her. "Okay, thank's for letting me know. I'll call and check back in a few hours." He ended the call and slid it back into his pocket before turning his attention back to Rory. "He's in surgery. They found more damage than they had thought they would find. So surgery is going to be a little more intense." He paused and shrugged. "But they haven't been in for very long, so there wasn't very much they could really tell me."

Rory nodded as she listened to Logan talk, when he was done she tilted her head just slightly trying to think about what she shoud say in response. "Should you call your mom?"

Logan sighed and then frowned. His brow furrowing as he thought about it. "Yes, probably." he retrieved his phone and hit the speed dial for his mother. Shaking his head when it went straight to voicemail, he left a short mesasage after the beep. "Mom, it's Logan. They've started surgery on dad. Thought you should know. Bye." He clicked the phone off for the second time in as many minutes and put it once again back in his pocket. As his gaze reached Rory's she could instantly tell that he needed some distraction adter the last few minutes.

"Okay, well no more phone. Let's go do something fun." She pondered the last visit that she had taken to Stars Hollow with Logan and remembered his favorite parts of the trip. "There's no hay maze this time, but we could go see the house mom just bought to expand the inn." She shrugged, knowing since it wasn't ideal tourist season, there wasn't really any big events or excitement planned.

"Sounds good to me." He knew his voice matched the glum mood having to deal with his parents, even if not in person or directly had put him in. He shook his head. "Sorry Ace, I just hate having to deal with this."

Rory shrugged and smiled. "It's okay Logan, families are stressfull and yours is more so than normal ones."

"You can say that again." Logan said as he shook his head once more. "Let's go see this new inn of your moms. And then maybe I'll take you out to lunch. Since breakfast was rudely interrupted."

Rory smiledd as they headed off in the direction of the house that had up until recently housed the town's aging and elderly. "It's not much yet, they stripped a lot of the rooms down to the bare bones so they could redecorate, but it's going to be something and the library room is already half done." She smiled, trying not to bore Logan. "Plus if you're lucky you might get to see me using a hammer." She teased as they crossed the street together.

"Rory Gilmore with a hammer. Not something many get to see." Logan teased.

"It's like a unicorn." She teased right back as they approached the house. "Don't worry, there won't be that many townspeople in here for you to fend off. My mom's here." She said nodding to the brown upgraded version of her mother's ancient jeep. "And Tom, the contractor probably is. Other than that, you shouldn't have to worry about anyone groping you."

"That's always good. I think I've already reached my quota of contractors groping me for the year." Logan teased as he followed her up the steps that led up to the open door of the house.


	11. Chapter 11

"You couldn't find something more entertaining to do with Logan?" Lorelai asked as her daughter and Logan entered the house.

"Well, we went to the bookstore and then I couldn't think of anything else. I didn't know if it was kosher to go to the diner or not, so I figured we would come by here first."

"Well, at least you're nice to look at. Even if you aren't fun." Lorelai teased.

"It's not a big deal Ms. Gilmo... ..." Logan responded, looking a little confused and embarrased. "I don't even know what to call you."

"Posh Spice." Lorelai said with a grin. "No, Lorelai is fine."

"It looks like you are working hard to get this place up to snuff." Logan responded changing the conversation as he looked around at his surroundings. The room was nearly empty excpet for a folding table, with a plethura of walkee talkees sitting on top of it, a stack of folding chairs and several different kinds of power tools strewn in various places around the room.

"We haven't been working on it too long. It took forever to get permits from Taylor." She sighed. "But it's coming along slowly but surely."

"Taylor Dosee?" Logan asked. The last time he had spent any good amount of time in town he had been fascinated by the one man freak show that was Taylor Dosee.

"That would be the one." Lorelai said. "There's not a whole lot to look at, but if Rory wants to show you around she can and then we can all go over to the diner together and have lunch."

Logan looked from Lorelai to Rory,who shrugged and smiled before responding. "Sounds good to me."

Rory took a step towards the hallway and massive wooden staircase that was before them and looked back at Logan. "I will be your tourguide for the morning. Please keep flash photography to a mininum and keep all hands and feet in the vessel at all times."

Logan laughed and followed the brunette through the dusty and mid remodel rooms of the downstairs. Even though there wasn't a whole lot to look at currently you could tell that when it was done it would be spectacular, and Logan made a mental note to say so to Lorelai later.

"And here's my favorite room." Rory said, pushing a darkly stained wooden door open to reveal a large room lined on three of the four walls with dark bookshelves. There were only a few books scattered amongst the shelves but even so the room was so inviting and warm, he could see why Rory liked it so much.

"It's a great room. Reminds me of those dark corners of Yale's libraries." he said softly looking at her.

"I didn't know you paid attention to your surroundings in the library all those times I drug you there."

Logan chuckled. "While you are the main star of most of those memories, I do remember other things about the time we spent there. Like the leather chair in the corner next to the biographies that you claimed as your own. Or the Shakespeare books, and how you always had to reorganize them because whoever stocked the shelves didn't do a good job." He smiled at the memories.

"Wow. Color me impressed." Rory said with a grin.

There walk down memory lane was interrupted with Lorelai's call up the stairs. "Gilmore party of two, the lunch train is leaving the station in five minutes."

"Be right down mom." Rory called back before looking at Logan. Smiling she reached out for his hand. "Baby must like this room too, every time I come in here the kicking goes crazy." She took Logan's larger hand in her smaller one and rested it against her stomach.

"It's so cool to feel the baby move like that." Logan responded stepping closer to Rory, his hand still on her stomach. "I can't believe we made that." He said, his voice quieter and huskier than usual.

"It is pretty cool. Except at two am when it wakes me up and then I realize that I have to pee for the fourtieth time of the night." Rory said with a small smile.

"Ror..." Logan started. "I..." he stuttered trying to find the words to say to her. " I mean...I..." he shook his head and leaned over, pressing a brief kiss against her lips. Rory returned the kiss and then pulled back slowly.

"Wow..." she said softly as she looked into his eyes.

"Yeah...wow." Logan said as they both stood there, unsure of what to do next or even of what to say.

"C'mon kiddos, lets rock and roll." came Lorelai's voice up the stairs. Suddenly being drawn back into the present the two regianed their compusere and Logan let his hand drop from Rory's belly before laughing.

"Let's not keep her waiting." he said almost awkwardly before they headed downstairs and met Lorelai in the foyer to the house.

"Ready?" Rory asked her mother when they reached her.

"I'm never not ready for food loinfruit, you know that." Loreali responded as the trio filed out of the house one at a time.

"Do you think Luke will make me S'mores pancakes and bacon mac and cheese?" Rory asked as they crossed the street.

"On the same plate?" Logan asked. He was familair with Rory's odd eating habits, but that one kind of put the others to shame.

"Don't judge me, it's your baby too!" Rory said, pretending to be offended.

"I'm sure he will make you whatever you want." Lorelai responded after the laughter at Rory's comment had died down.

A few minutes later, Lorelai led the group into the diner where Luke smiled broadly at his step daughter and then glanced at Logan and trying not to be awkward extended his hand. "Hey Logan, long time no see."

Taking the hand that was offered Logan shook it before responding. "Good to see you Luke."

"Go ahead and sit anywhere, although I'd avoid the counter. Petal was here with Kirk earlier and somehow climbed on the counter. It still smells faintly of Kirk's mother's perfume and pig."

"Point well taken." Rory said as she chose a table near the window, and Logan sat beside her while Lorelai hung out with Luke for a few more moments.

"He said he would make you both of your rediculous foods, but only if you ate a salad too." Lorelai said as she sat across from her daughter, who frowned slightly at the mention of what she referred to as rabbit food. Seeing the look on her daughter' face Lorelai added. "Hey kid, I don't make the rules. I just pass them on."

Several minutes later the three had ordered food. Lorelai had gone with chilli nachos and a oreo milkshake, Rory had decided against the earlier choices and ordered a double bacon cheeseburger and peach pie with a root beer float. Logan had made the healthiest order of the trio and gone with a grilled chicken sandwich and crinkle cut fries. Luke had taken their order and told them he would have it out in no time.

Once they had settled into their seats Lorelai decided she might as well use the time to get reaquainted with Logan. "So Logan, what are you doing these days?"

"I am the 'face' of my father's company. I handle all the public appearances. Do a lot of contract work, do meetings. A lot of the legwork." He said, the distaste for everything involving his father evident in the way he spoke and the expression plastered across his face.

"Sounds important." Lorelai said. "How is your dad?"

Logan shrugged. "I talked to a nurse before we came to the inn. They found some more damage and blockages when they opened him up. So surgery is going to take longer."

The three continued small talk ranigng from what each individual did for work to various other topics. They were talking about Taylor, and the amount of businesses he now owned in Stars Hollow when Luke walked over with their drinks, and behind him wa Cesar carrying their entrees.

"Enjoy." Luke said as he glanced at all three people sitting at the table. "It's on the house today." He retreated back to his spot behind the counter a few seconds later.

By the time Logan had eaten a handful of french fires, Rory had already demolished her slice of pie and made quite the dent in her cheeseburger. "Whoa whoa Ace, slow down." he joked as she dropped her burger on the plate to wash it down with some of her milkshake.

"Grrrr." Rory responded making silly little growling sounds.

Logan chuckled and went back to eating his lunch. After the three of them had sufficently stuffed their faces and thanked Luke, Lorelai took off for the inn again, and Logan and Rory said they would catch up with her later. They aimlessly started strolling the town square. Logan couldn't help but reflect on how nice it was to be somewhere where he could actually hold a conversation without someone expecting him to sign something or go to a meeting about something else. As they neared the gazeebo he looked at Rory and cleared his throat.

"So...should we talk about what happeend in the library before lunch?"

Rory shrugged. "Eventually, yeah probably. But not right now. I don't want to spoil the day we are having." She frowned realizing that her words sounded worse than she had meant them to. "Not that it was a bad thing. It wasn't. I just..."

"I understnad, and that's totally cool with me. I just didn't want you to think that I was avoiding talking about it." Logan responded.

"I didn't think that at all." Rory said with a smile, as she climbed the steps to the gazeebo, sitting on the bench she watched as Logan followed and sat beside her. "It's funny though, I never thought I would see you here again." She chuckled. "Then again, I never thought I would be pregnant, or having your baby either. So I guess it's just a whole new world for me."

"You and me both." Logan said with a grin as he leaned back on the bench and stretched his legs out. After a few moments of quiet Logan looked at Rory and asked. "Do you want to raise the baby here?"

Rory nibbled at her lip as she thought of her answer to the question. The issue had been weighing on her mind, ever since she had decided to tell Logan about the baby. Part of her wanted to raise the baby in the same enviroment that she had been brought up in. Stars Hollow had a lot going for it, there were plenty of people to help raise the baby and the town had something that any other town she had ever been in was lacking. However, she also wanted to raise her and Logan's child somewhere that allowed him or her lots of opportunities. While Stars Hollow had tons of loving people, it lacked a lot of opportunity. She shrugged and turned to Logan. "I don't know yet. I haven't decided yet. I know we need to start thinking about that. But there are so many decisions to make about the baby, that sometimes I just feel overwhelmed by it all."

Logan smiled softly and reached over to pat her hand. "Well, you can let me help. I might not know a whole lot about babies. But I'll try to help in whatever way I can. I would like to raise the baby in the best place for it to thrive."

Rory nodded, and Logan's phone rang breaking them from the conversation they were trying to have before it really had the chance to take off. Logan stood, and pulled his phone from his pocket in one swift motion looking at Rory before he took a step away. "I bet its the hospital. Be right back." He brought the phone to his ear and answered it as he made his way down the stairs to the outside of the gazeebo. "Hello?"

"Mr Huntzburger. I have some bad news for you I'm afraid." came the voice of the doctor that he and Rory had met just that morning.

"Okay." Logan answered, unsure of what news was about to be shared with him.

"Your father didn't make it through surgery. He flat lined about fifteen minutes ago. I along with my team tried very hard to save him, but the damage just seemed to be too far. It appears that he had been suffering from heart disease for a long time, and that we were just too late."

Logan unsure of what to say, or really how to feel stood with the phone to his ear motionless and silent for a minute. His back was to Rory at that moment, something that he was actually glad for at time being.

"Mr Huntzburger...Mr Huntzburger. Are you there?" The doctor asked.

"Yes, sorry. I'm here. I just... I don't know what to say."

"That's understandable. Loosing a parent, or any loved one is a big deal. No one expects you to say anything. We would like to see you and speak to you. And if you would like to see him, you can."

"Of course. I'll be there as soon as I can. Thank you for calling." Logan responded before hanging up. He took a few more seconds to compose himself before turning to face Rory.

"Logan, what's wrong? You're pale as a ghost. What happened?" Rory asked, springing up from her seat on the bench and racing over to where Logan stood like a statue, his phone still in his hand.

"He didn't make it through surgery. Ace, my dad's dead." Logan responded, his gaze finally shifting to her.

Without thinking Rory wrapped her arms around Logan and sighed sadly. "Oh Logan, I'm so sorry. I know you guys weren't close. But I'm still so sorry."

Logan felt the tenseness in his body relax just a little bit as Rory wrapped her arms around him, he relaxed a little and pulled her close wrapping his own arms around her smaller frame. "They want me to come to the hospital and talk to the doctors. I guess to make sure we aren't going to sue or anything, and they said I could see the body if I wanted to."

Rory looked up at him and tilted her head. "Of course. That makes sense. Well the talking to them does. The seeing the body is a little weird to me." She shrugged. "But what do I need to do. What do you want me to do?"

Logan looked down at Rory and sighed. "You're doing it. Right now." He closed his eyes for a minute and just lost himself in the moment. He hadn't ever expected his dad to die, at least not like that. He was sure that Mitchum Huntzburger would get stabbed in the back by an ex employee or client before a heart attack would kill him. But he had been wrong. A few moments later he opened his eyes and looked at Rory who had remained silent waiting for more of an answer from him.

"Do you want me to come with you Logan?" she asked, not really being able to read his facial expressions, or the silences.

"I coudln't ask you to do that. This is my family. This is something I need to deal with."

"That's why I offered, I knew you would never ask me." Rory said simply.

"Oh Ace." Logan said softly.

"Then that settles it. I'll send my mom a message, we can go get the car and go back to the hospital."

"I really wish us seeing each other again was under better circumstances." Logan said as their embrace broke apart and he watched Rory pull her phone out and quickly text her mother.

"Logan, it's okay." she said without looking up from her phone. She hit the send button slid her phone back into her purse and returnd her gaze to Logan. "Okay all set."

Logan held his hand out, Rory hesitated before taking it and together they walked back towards her house where his car was parked. Once they had gotten inside and situated Logan pulled away from the curb and glanced over at Rory. "Thank you again for this."

Rory nodded. "Of course. I don't have any experience with loosing a parent. And I know that you weren't that close, but I can be here for support and help in anyway that I can."

"That's all I ask. I've always done all this type of stuff alone, so I guess that I just am not very good at asking for help when I need it."

Rory smiled softly. "It's a good thing I know you so well."

"I guess it is." Logan said softly as they left Stars Hollow and headed towards Hartford and the hospital. 


	12. Chapter 12

The ride back to the hospital was a silent one. Rory didn't know what to say and Logan didn't seem to have anything to say so instead of their usual small talk and joking, they stayed quiet. It wasn't until the car pulled to a stop in a parking spot at the hospital that Logan broke the silence and looked at Rory. "I didn't think I would feel anything but glad that he's gone when he died."

Rory unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned over, placing a hand on his shoulder and sighing softly. She wasn't fully prepared on helping Logan through this, but prepared or not it was time for her to step up to the plate and do just that. "I know this is hard. And it's harder because you and your dad weren't close." She looked at Logan, and wished there was more she could give him than just words. She couldn't even begin to imagine what was going through his head."Do you want to talk about it before you go in?"

Logan's face softened and he sighed shaking his head slowly. "I don't know what to say. So I guess not. I'll just get this over with and then maybe I'll know what to say."

Rory smiled and patted the spot where her hand was resting. "You don't have to have the right words to say, even if you just want to ramble on remember I'm here." She squeezed his shoulder and then added. "I'll go in to the hospital, but hang out in the cafeteria. They aren't going to let me be in the room when they talk to you about what happened anyway. Since I'm not family."

Logan nodded reached over and took her hand from his shoulder and held it in his own for a few seconds before squeezing it and letting go. "Thank you Ace."

"Of course Logan." Rory responded. They sat in the car for a few more minutes before they exited. Logan handed the keys to the car to Rory and smiled.

"In case you get bored waiting. Just don't steal the car. It's the company car, and all I need is for you giving birth to our baby in jail." He joked, even though the tone of his voice was anything but joking. With a small nod he left her and entered the hospital.

Rory stood in front of the car for a few more minutes wondering what she could do while Logan was with his father's doctor that would be helpful. She decided she would do something that would cheer Logan up, she knew that he was going to have to process what had happened and the death of his father in his own way and time and that was perfectly normal. She wanted to get him something, something that showed that she cared and that she was there for him. Deciding she had spent enough money in the hospital gift shop earlier she remembered passing a few stores on the way to GAP that would have stuff she knew Logan would like. With a faint smile on her face she got behind the wheel of the black town car and started the engine, glad to have something productive to do.

Logan got directions to the doctor's office from a dull looking security guard who barely looked up from his trashy gas station love novel to answer his question. In a matter of minutes he found himself rapping at the door on the second floor. A few seconds later he was ushered in by the man who had been trying to save his father's life.

"Sit down please, Mr Huntzburger." The older man said as he retook his seat behind the large wooden desk.

"Logan, you can call me Logan."

"Okay Logan. Let me start by saying that I am very sorry that we couldn't do more to save him. All the tests we performed when he was admitted to the hospital showed that there was damage but it didn't show how bad the damage was." He sighed, removing his glasses and placing them on the desk in front of him. "He should of seen a doctor for this months if not years ago." He shook his head sadly. "The damage to his heart was too much, and he suffered a heart attack while on the table. We did everything we could to save him and revive him, but it was too late."

"I understand that. I was under the impression that he was getting checked by a doctor regularly. But I don't know to what extent. We weren't exactly close." Logan replied.

"I have the notes from the last day for you, if you want to read them as well as an affidavit stating you won't sue the hospital that you understand that it wasn't our fault he died. That kind of stuff. I can leave you here alone if you'd rather while you read over, or stay to answer any questions you might have."

"You can stay. I don't have any questions yet, but if I do I'll ask." Logan said taking the small stack of papers that the doctor had slid acros the desk to him.

Rory parked in a open parking spot at the end of a strip of stores a few blocks away from the hospital. The cloest store was her first stop. It was an old fashioned candy store that she had visited many times before with her mom. Entering she smiled at the big glas jars filled to the brim with every candy you could name from turn of the century on. Grabbing a basket she started loading it with bags of gummy bears, root beer barrels, gummy frogs and chocolate kises. Moving through the aisles she found the themed section of candy. Smiling softly when she found the Harry Potter section. She had made Logan sit through all eight movies one weekend and he ended up liking them but he had always wanted to taste all the oddball candies they had. This was perfect, Rory thought. She tossed several different bags of Bertie Botts every flavored bean and chocolate frogs. After tossing a couple more random candies into her basket she made her way to the register and paid.

Her next stop was the Hallmark store. She knew that Logan would be making fun of her for going into what he referred to as a "old lady" Christmas shop. Sure enough when she pushed through the doors there was the ever present display of ornaments lining one of the walls. She bypassed the ornamnets and made her way to the cards. Grabbing a sorry for your loss card and a large silver gift bag she checked out quickly.

Logan finished up with the doctor and thanked him again before leaving. When he exited the hospital, he chuckled noticing the car was gone. Hitting the speed dial button for Rory, he leaned agianst a tree waiting for her to answer.

"Hellllllo" Rory's sing song voice came after a couple of rings.

"Run off on me already Ace?" Logan said joking slightly.

"I had to go pick something up.I'll be back in a couple of minutes." She said quickly, hanging up with out a good bye. After tossing her phone back into the cupholder in the car she stuffed all the goodies in the shiny silver bag, signed the card and wrote a brief note and then packaged it all up, sitting it on the back seat before she got in the drivers seat and drove the short distance back to the hosptial.

"How'd it go?" Rory asked as she got out of the car.

"I guess, about as good as you could expect it to go." Logan shrugged. "I'm still a little unsure of how I feel about him dying."

Rory nodded as she ducked into the back seat and returned with the silver bag. Holding it out to Logan she shrugged. "I felt so useless just sitting there and waiting. So I made you a care package."

Admiration washed over Logan as he took the bag from Rory. "You didn't have to do this." He set the bag on the hood of the car and pulled the card out. He read it twice, slowly before looking up at Rory. "This is so thoughtful. So Rory. This is why I'm glad I called you to be here for me."

"Of course Logan." she said softly. Logan gazed at her for several more seconds before returning his attention to the bag of treats in front of him. He dug through laughing when he reached the Harry Potter goodies. "This is amazing Ace."

"I just wanted to do something for you. And since food is what I'm good at, I figured that's what I would do."

"You did it well." Logan smiled, then immediately his face dropped. "Get in the car Ace. Get in the car now." He said, an urgent tone in his voice. Rory did as she was told and jumped a little when Logan tossed the bag into the back seat and got in the car, slamming the door with a great deal of force. Before she knew what was happening he was backing up out of the parking spot and speeding out of the hospital parking lot as quickly as he could.

"Wanna tell me what that was all about?" Rory asked once they had traveled several blocks.

Logan nodded as he changed lanes. "Sorry for the James Bond escape. But I saw my mother's driver and car and there's no way I am going to put you through that." He shrugged. "I'm sure I'm a bad person for not sticking around and dealing with her or talking to her, but I've had about all I can handle for one day."

Rory nodded. "Okay, as long as there's not a hired assasin or something chasing us I'm cool."

He chuckled. "Nah, nobody wants me dead that bad. Well other than maybe Paris."

Rory laughed, she couldn't help it. Paris had never really warmed to Logan. "She doesn't hate you that much. Although I'm sure the first time she sees you at a doctor's appointment with me is going to be interesting." She paused.

"Think it's still okay for me to hang out in Stars Hollow?" Logan asked as he headed toward the interstate.

"Of course Logan. Although my mom might be a little weird. I told her that Mitchum died and she didn't like him that much, but she's going to try to be sympathetic."

Logan nodded and shrugged. "It's okay.I appreciate it. You'll have to help me find a thank you gift for her and Luke." he responded as he found the onramp that they needed to get to stars Hollow and took it. 


	13. Chapter 13

As Rory led Logan into her childhood home they were greeted by the smell of takeout from Al's. Kicking off her shoes and tossing her purse on the couch she headed for the kitchen with Logan in tow.

"We're back." Rory said by way of annoucment as they entered the kitchen. The table was covered in just about every chinese food dish you could think of.

"I didnt know really when you'd be back, so it might be a little cold by now. But you know Al's chinese is always better cold anyway." Lorelai said directed at Rory, before turning her attention to Logan. "I'm sorry about your dad Logan."

Logan nodded and shrugged slightly still unsure of exactly how he felt about his father's passing. "Thanks Lorelai." He gazed at the table. "I hope this tastes better than the smell."

Rory laughed as she neared the table and then looked at Logan. "It's better after it has sat out for a little while." She paused picking an eggroll off the teetering tower whch had been expertly presented on a Daffy Duck children's plate from her youth." Which would explain why its all cold." She added before popping the eggroll in her mouth.

"I see." Logan replied laughing.

"It doesn't make much sense to me either." Luke added entering the house through the back door in the kitchen. "Hey Logan. Sorry about your dad." His words were kind, but his tone was offputting. Logan sensed that maybe he wasn't exactly thrlled that he had been invited.

"Thanks Luke. Good to see you." He replied, hoping to smooth whatever Luke was upset over out.

"Well that's enough chit chat. It's been sitting out for two hours, dig in!" Lorelai said with enthusiam only she could muster before she handed out brightly colored Disney Princess plates to everyone standing around the table.

"Yours?" Logan asked, teasing Rory as he looked down at Sleeping Beauty's face staring back up at him.

"Nope. Those would be mom." Rory said as she started spooning chow mein and orange chicken onto her plate.

"I got them free after I sent in eight box tops from fruit snacks." Lorelai added with a bright smile as she took nothing but the beef from the beef and broccoli and a pile of crab rangoons.

"Those fruit snacks probably took six months off your life for every package you ate." Luke said with a slight curl of his lip, as he loaded his plate with veggies and brown rice. "If I have to live for years after you go to an early grave, it's all Kellogg's fault." The group all laughed.

"So, there's a ton meeting at 8. But you two don't have to come." Lorelai said in between mouthfulls of food. "I'm trying to convince Luke to close the diner long enough to come with me. Taylor has some sort of big news that he's telling us all tonight." They had all gathered in the living room. Luke and Lorelai had perched themselves on the couch, while Rory and Logan and chose to sit in the mismatched easy chairs across from the couch. Luke swallowed his bite of brocolli and rolled his eyes at Lorelai.

"I haven't done it in years, but I would be happy to moonlight at the diner tonight so that you could drag Luke with you." Rory said with a smile, her famous Gilmore scheming smile plastered across her face.

"Rory, you don't have to do that. In your condition. I can stay. Your mother can be just fine at the town meeting without me." Luke said leaning forward an putting his plate on the coffee table.

"Buuuuut we're married now! You are supposed to be catering to my every whim." Lorelai teasingly whined as she looked at her newly minted husband.

"I'll help." Logan said quietly looking from Rory to Luke, to Lorelai. He figured he could handle one night, and maybe this would help warm Logan to him.

Before Luke could come up with another excuse as to why he needed to be at the diner and not at the town meeting, Lorelai grinned. "It's all settled then. Logan and Rory will help at the diner. And you will accompany me to the town meeting. Make sure you save some fried rice and egg rolls for me to put in my purse."

Luke rolled his eyes, even though there was a slight smile playing on his lips. He leaned over and kissed his wifes forehead before picking his plate back up. "Yes, dear." 


	14. Chapter 14

"If you need anything, I have my cell phone and your mom has hers." Luke reminded Rory as he pulled his coat on. Lorelai was already waiting in the entryway. She might be late to most things, but town meetings she was almost always excited for and usually on time.

"Luke. It's fine. Logan will help. I know my way around the diner almost as well as I know my way around the Yale libraries." Rory teased softly as she slipped her feet into her Converse.

"Right. Thank Logan for me." Luke said, almost awkwardly. He was having a tough time knowing how to deal with Logan being around. Deep down he knew that it was good for Logan to be a part of the baby's life, but Luke still had some reservations about the blonde being back around. "And make sure he does any heavy lifting."

"Luuuuuukkkkeeee darling, we must bid the children adieu and go see what Master Dosee has to impart on us this fine fine evening." Lorelai called in a sing song voice.

"I'm coming." Luke replied, shaking his head with a smile before he went to join his wife.

Logan reappeared from Rory's room, having changed into a pair of jeans and a soft blue tshirt. "Do I look okay?"

Rory chuckled softly and nodded. "Logan, it's a diner, not a fashion show. You look fine." she joked as she heard her mother and step father leave, and the door close behind them.

"I know, but. I just want to make a good impression." Logan replied.

"You're fine Logan. Believe me, Stars Hollow is gonna talk no matter what. Especially when they find out we are having a baby. But it'll be okay. I promise."

"Okay then let's do this." Logan responded.

The pair walked the short five minute walk from the house to the diner, which was just about empty. Rory figured it would be. In a small town like this, everyone except for a few people went to all meetings. Even if it meant they were drug to them like her step father.

Ceasar however was in the back, grilling a couple of burgers. The smell wafted through the front door as Logan held it open for Rory and then followed her inside.

"Hola Rory!" He called sticking his head out from the back. "I'm just making my dinner, do you and your friend want anything?"

"We just ate, but thanks." she said as she hung her jacket up. "We're actually here to help you during the town meeting."

"Lorelai conned Luke into going again?" Cesar said laughing.

"Mmmhmmm." Rory said. Then remembering she hadn't introduced Logan to Cesar she shook her head. They had met years ago, but she wasn't sure Cesar, who saw a lot of faces every day remembered him. "Logan this is Cesar."

"We've met. Good to see you again." Cesar said with a smile. "I'd shake your hand, but I'm greasy. "

"It's all good man. It's nice to see you again." He smiled back. "So what can I do to help?"

Cesar shrugged. "There's not really anything to do, unless you want to wipe down the tables. We probably won't get but one or two customers while the meeting is going on." Logan nodded and went to grab the rag off the counter near the coffee pots, leaving Cesar and Rory to talk.

"Hey uhh so Rory. Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course Cesar. What's up?" Rory responded, an eyebrow raised. While she had known Cesar all her life, or at least as long as she could remember, she could still count on one hand the amount of times he had pulled her aside to talk to her. Even then it had mostly been about surprises for Luke.

"I heard your mom and Luke talking the other day. I tried not to listen, but you know...sometimes I can't help what I hear." he paused and wiped his hands on his apron. "Are you pregant?"

Rory felt the color fill in her cheeks as she looked away for a second. She knew the questions were going to start coming soon, especially since she had chosen to not wear something that hid her stomach, but she really hadn't thought they would start the same night she had decided to bring Logan home. Deciding it was better to just be up front with him she nodded sheepishly. "Four months. Yeah. I haven't told a lot of people. But yeah."

"Congratulations! Another Gilmore. Oh my girls will be so excited to babysit!" he exclaimed. "Oh wait, is he the dad?"

Rory followed his gaze to Logan and laughed before answering. "Yeah, but he just found out too."

"Well, congratulations." Cesar waited for a few more seconds before walking back to the grill to make his food. Rory watched him before walking over to the counter.

"Look at that, Logan Huntzburger cleaning a counter at a small town diner. It's like a Hallmark movie." Rory teased as she sat on one of the bar stools.

"Just what I've always wanted to be a part of. A Hallmark movie." Logan teased as he finished up at the bar and went about wiping the tables off. "This place hasn't changed at all, since the last time I was here."

"Well that's Luke. Once it works don't fix it. Well except for that weird spurt he went through where he built shelves everywhere." Rory shook he head. "But I like that it hasn't changed. It's like this is one little piece of my life that will always be exactly like I remember it."

Logan moved to the next table and smiled softly. "I forget sometimes that you had a good childhood. That you have good memories of the town where you grew up."

Rory frowned as she watched him. "I'm sorry that you don't have any good memories of growing up."

Logan shrugged as he finished up the table and walked back over to where Rory was seated. "It's okay. I just want to make sure that our baby has plenty of good memories."

Rory smiled and looked at her stomach before looking back at Logan. "Perfect."

After several minutes of no customers, during which Logan and Rory had made pyramids out of disposable cups of coffee creamer and pancake syrup the bell above the door rang signalling them of a customer.

Rory turned around and smiled when she saw Lulu pushing a stroller, in which sat her and Kirk's pet pig Petal. "Hey Lulu." she said as she made her way over, she stooped down and petted the pink pig. "Hi Petal." After straighenting back up she reverted her gaze back to Lulu. "Why arent you at the meeting?"

"Kirk's mom has been sick, so I offered to stay home with her. I just came by for some chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese." Lulu smiled brightly. Rory couldn't remember a time when the woman didn't have a smile on her face.

"Coming right up." Rory said as she prepared to head towards the kitchen to relay the order to Cesar. Before walking away she turned back to Lulu. "Tell Mrs. Gleeson I hope she feels better. And It was good to see you."

"I will. You too."

Rory left Lulu and Petal and made his way into the kitchen. "I need chicken soup and two grilled cheese Cesar."

"Right away Rory." Cesar said, putting his own meal back on the plate and getting to work. 


	15. Chapter 15

"How'd it go?" Lorelai asked as her and Rory sat in the kitchen eating cookie dough ice cream straight out of the container. Luke had already gone up to bed since he had deliveries early in the morning, and Logan was in the bedroom talking to his sister, going over funeral arrangements.

"It was fine. Fun actually. Lulu was the only customer we had all night. Besides Logan. I got hungry and so he bought a double order of chilli cheese friesand we ate those. Well he had three bites, I ate the rest."

"Luke really appreciates it. You know he won't tell you but he does." Lorelai responded after taking another spoonful out of the carton.

"I know. Logan cleaned all the tables, and even swept and mopped." she sighed happily. "By the way Cesar knows about the baby, he overheard you guys a couple days ago. I just confirmed it."

"Me and my big mouth strike again!" Loreali said somewhat sheepishly. "I'm sorry kiddo."

"It's okay mom, they're going to find out eventually." Rory responded as she set her spoon down.

"Who's gonna find out what?" Logan asked with a weary smile as he re- entered the room.

"The town is gonna find out about the baby." Rory said as she looked at Logan. Noticing the look on his face she frowned. "How'd the call go?"

The blonde shrugged before sinking down into the chair next to her. "It was fine. Honor is about how I'd expect her to be. She's still trying to talk to mom. Which is a loosing battle. But Honor has never learend that." He sighed softly. "But she knows about the baby now too"

Rory laughed. "One day I'll get to tell somebody that I'm pregant, without other people doing it for me."

"You told me!" Lorelai said with a smile.

"And me." Logan added.

After a few more minutes of joking and small talk, Lorelai rose from the table and announced she was going to go to bed. Logan and Rory watched as she, accompanied by Paul Anka made their way out of the kitchen and through the living room to head up the stairs.

After they heard the ascend the steps Logan turned to Rory and smiled. "Thanks for being here for me today."

"You've already thanked me Logan. It's no trouble."

"I know, but I want you to know how much I appreciate it." he responded as he stole the spoon sitting in front of her and scooped out a large bite of ice cream from the carton. He popped it in his mouth with a grin before adding. "Honor can't wait to take you shopping for baby stuff. She said we needed to hurry up and find the sex of the baby so she can start picking out tiaras or pinky rings"

"She did not say that." Rory choked out in between laughs.

"Well I substituted pinky rings for tonka trucks. But the sentiment is the same." he responded.

"How's she handling your dad dying?" Rory asked as she put the lid back on the ice cream carton and stood to put it back in the freezer.

"I've got that." Logan said, popping out of his chair and taking the carton from her. "And it's effecting her a little bit more. She as a little bit closer to dad. Not much, but more than I was." He scoffed. "Although the car detailer was closer to dad than I was, so that's really not saying a whole lot."

"If you want to talk about it..." Rory said as she leaned agianst the counter.

"I know, thank you." Logan paused. "Are you feeling okay? It's been a long couple of days."

Rory shrugged and yawned. "I'm a little tired, but I'll be okay."

Logan raised an eyebrow and nodded. "If you're sure."

"I'll let you know if somethings wrong." Rory said with a reassuring smile. Pushing off from the counter she smiled. "Wanna come watch C Span with me?"

Logan laughed as he ran his hand through his hair. "Are you trying to flirt with me?"

"Depends, is it working?" Rory asked with a smirk as she led him into her bedroom. 


	16. Chapter 16

"I thought you said C-Span." Logan said a few minutes later as he stared at the small flatscreen tv that was sitting atop the faded pink dresser set against one wall in Rory's childhood bedroom.

"But an I Dream of Jeannie marathon is just so much more fun." Rory said matter of factly from her perch on one of the beds.

"It's not Twilight Zone, but it'll do."Logan repled after a minute.

"So, what's the plan for the funeral?" Rory asked after a few minutes without any speaking except for what was coming from the television program.

"I need to go to Hartford in a couple of days and see what arrangements he had made when he did his will a few years ago." He shrugged. "I'm sure he will be buried in the family plot, everything is probably all planned. I just have to say when and where, and the hoards of people who will pretend like they cared about him will show up."

Rory wanted to laugh at the last statement but because of the situation, she chose not to. "Do you want me to...?"

"Only if you want to. I don't want to subject you to my mother." Logan cut her off and answered.

"Will she actually show up for the funeral?" Rory asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course she will. There will be people there. People she can put on a show for. Shira Huntzburger will for sure be there." He gave a disgusted grunt at the end of his statemnt and sighed. "Let me find out exactly when it is going to be, and we will go from there. I don't want to put you under any extra stress."

"That sounds good to me. And I promise, I'll be okay. If I could face Mitchum, I'm sure I can handle your mother too." She shrugged. "Plus it would probably make sense for a Gilmore to be present at the funeral."

"I'm sure your grandmother is on the list of people to invite." Logan responded. Deciding he would rather talk about anything besides what they were currently discussing he glanced at his Apple Watch and got an idea. "Hey Ace, it's still pretty early. Well by my standards at least. Do you feel like going for a walk?"

"Uh, sure. But no where is going to be open."

"Oh Ace, I don't want to go anywhere. I just want to go for a walk with you."

"Okay." Rory said, as she pushed out of the bed and slipped her feet into her shoes. Pulling a oversized blue hoodie with YALE stamped across the front in bold black letters she smiled. "Recognize this?" She asked pointing at the hoodie.

"I knew you took it!" Logan said with a chuckle. "Man that things old. I can't believe you still wear it."

"I usually wear it to bed. I found it in a box when I moved back here." Rory responed as she waited for Logan to pull his jacket on.

"Ready if you are Ace." Logan said a few seconds later.

OOO  
"I love how quiet Stars Hollow is at night." Logan said as they walked slowly through the town square several minutes later.

"I guess you don't get much of this do you?" Rory asked quietly as she glanced up at him.

"Not in London, or in New York." He said, almost sadly. Shrugging, he added. "Although, there will only be one more trip to London to collect my things and I guess tie up whatever loose ends I need to."

"Won't you have to take control of the company?" Rory asked, until that moment she hadn't really thought about what would happen to the Huntzburger company or holdings now that Mitchum had died.

"I haven't even discussed it with anyone. I'm not sure I wan't the company. I saw what it did to my dad. I don't want that to happen to me. I won't let that happen to me." Logan stated, the last part coming out maybe a little more sternly than he had inteneded it to.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just didn't know how that would work." Rory said, a little surprised at the change in the tone of his voice.

"It's not your fault. It's just I would rather talk about just about any other subject under the sun." Logan said, with a smile.

"Got it. So another subject. Uhhhhh." Rory laughed. "What do you want to do tomorrow?"

"I'd love for just one normal day." Logan said as they approached the gazeebo and he climbed the steps. Rory watched for a second before joining him inside the gazeebo. Logan leaned against the railing and smiled as she took the place beside him. He slowly put his arm around her and pulled her closer. "Think we can handle that? One normal day?"

"Well, I don't know how normal any of this is. But we can try." Rory responded as she felt herself warm at his touch. "We'll start off with a breakfast at Luke's. Then go by and see Lane, Zach and the the twins. She's been dying to see my bump since she found out I was pregnant." She paused to laugh. "Then we can go to the cat store, go see the giant slinky and play putt putt." She laughed yet again. "There's really not a whole lot to do in Stars Hollow."

"That actually sounds perfect. I think the last time I played Putt Putt, was when we did it on the roofs with Colin, Finn and Robert." Logan smirked, remembering the night that he had reunited the Life and Death Brigade to take Rory out for a night on the town. The night that had resulted in her getting pregnant.

"Haven't taken any more girls in steampuck gear for midnight rooftop sports?" Rory teased as she looked up at him.

"There's only one girl in steampunk gear that I'd even dare to take on the rooftop." He replied matter of factly, before leaning down and kissing her softly.

"She must be lucky." Rory said simpy after she broke their kiss.

"I guess we should be going back." Logan said after several minutes and a few more kisses. As much as he didn't want the moment they were sharing to end, he knew that he needed to get her back to the house. He straightened up and held his hand out for Rory to take. Hand in hand they silently walked back to the house, there were no words that needed to be said in that moment.

Rory coudln't keep a smile off her face the whole way back to the house. And after she and Logan had taken turns showering, and spent a few minutes talking she crawled into one of the two beds set up in her room feeling like maybe raising a baby with Logan would end up working out. And perhaps even better than she had ever imagined it would.


	17. Chapter 17

A few days had passed since Mitchum Huntzburger had died, and Rory found herself in a place she never thought she would step foot in again, the Huntzburger house. She had accompanied Logan to the house to see Honor, and for him to pick up some papers that were needed for his father's will.

"Rory! It's so good to see you!" came Honor's almost sing song voice from somewhere behind where Rory stood , causing her to turn around to see Honor rushing towards her, arms open for a hug.

Rory smiled and opened her own arms, the girls sharing a long hug. While the Huntzburger's elder members hadn't been too fond of Rory, Honor had always liked her, and they had gotten on quite well actually. "Hi Honor." Rory said as the hug broke apart.

"Well let me get a good look at you." The female Huntzburger said as she gave Rory a once over, placing her hand on the ever growing baby bump. "Do you know if it's a boy or girl yet?"

Rory shook her head before verbally answering. "Not yet, I find out in two weeks. Well I guess we, Logan wants to come along too."

"I think it's great that you are letting him be a part of the baby's life. We might not have had a good dad, but I think Logan will do a good job." Honor said softly as Logan walked back into the room, several folders of paperwork in his hand.

"Got what I needed. Let's get out of here before someone else from the family shows up." Logan said Rory before focusing his attention on his sister. "Honor, I hate to leave you here to deal with mom but I am not putting Rory through the drama that would come along with that. She's already had to deal with enough."

"No, I understand Logan. Maybe we can all get together for dinner one day this week." Honor responded, just as mucht to Rory as to Logan.

"I'd like that." Rory said before they all said their goodbyes and Logan whisked her away to the car outside.

Once they were out of the general vicinity of the house Logan turned to Rory and cocked his head asking, "So, do I need to take you back to your house? Do you wanna go to New York with me? What sounds good?"

Rory thought about it for a few seconds before smiling. "I need to go by the paper in the Hollow and send stuff to the printer, but other than that I am pretty free to do whatever." She wanted to make sure she was treading lightly, as they were right on the line of being friends or being more than that, and she didn't want to mess things up.

"Well then, first stop is Stars Hollow and we can take it from there." Logan replied as he continued driving.

"Do you think Shira will actually show up at the house today?" Rory asked after several moments of comfortable silence.

Logan shrugged. "I doubt it, but I didn't want to take any chances. She'll stay at some spa, loading up on pain pills and vodka until the funeral. Then she will show up and play the part of grieving widow."

Rory mulled over what Logan said as she nodded sadly. While she didn't have anything nice to say about either of the Logan's parents, it was a sad situation. She sometimes wondered what had happened to Shira to make her the way that she was. "Any idea on when the funeral is going to happen? I want to make sure I mentally psych myself up for it before it happens."

Logan looked over at her for a second, slightly surprised that she had already decided she was coming. The mere fact that she was willing to go, despite the fact that Shira would be there, was a testament to how Rory cared for him, even after all this time. It touched something deep within him, and made him feel something he hadn't felt in a long time. "I am assuming in a week or so. I need to make a couple more calls. The church of course will be the same one that they got married in. Because it will hold more people than anywhere else. And you know that's exactly how he would of wanted it. The biggest flashiest funeral the company can afford." Logan looked disgusted as he said the last part. He paused and looked over at his riding companion. "But you don't have to come if you think it is going to be too stressful. I know Emily will show up, regardless of how much of a fuck you she gave society when she left the DAR."

Rory couldn't help but giggle. Her grandmother had surprised everyone when she had up and quit the Daughters of the American Revolution a few months earlier, and then moved out of the house that she had shared with Richard for so many years. "I feel like I should be there though. I may of hated Mitchum, but he was still your dad and without him there wouldn't be a you."

"Well, that's sweet. I think." Logan said with a grin.

Several minutes later, the pair pulled up in front of the Stars Hollow Gazette and Rory smiled as she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door to get out. "All I have to do is send this weeks issue to the printer and then I'll be right back."

Logan nodded and pulled his phone out. "I'm going to check voicemails. I'll be right here as soon as you are done."

Rory nodded, flashed one more smile before heading into the small offices to do what had to be done.


	18. Chapter 18

"All done. If we stop by the house I can grab a bag of stuff and then we can head to New York." Rory said as she got back into the car, before she noticed that Logan was on the phone, mentally kicking her self for not being more observant she frowned and quietly settled into her seat. She tried not to pay attention to his side of the conversation, but it was kind of difficult given her proximity to Logan.

"No, I will not be at the house. I have things to do in New York, and I have to go over the will with the lawyers and make plans for the company."

Rory could tell by the strain in Logan's voice, that he was not enjoying the conversation he was having, which meant he was probably talking to his mother.

After a few more minutes of tense conversation Logan hung up the phone and very nearly slammed the phone on the dashboard. Rory had seen Logan angry plenty of times in the more than a decade that they had known each other, but this was a special kind of anger that she knew he reserved for when dealing with Shira or up until recently Mitchum.

"Sorry Ace." Logan said quietly as the anger faded from his eyes and he looked at her. There was something calming about being around Rory, he had always felt that way, but now it seemed almost more powerful.

"It's okay." She said quietly. "Do I even want to know what that call was about?"

Logan shook his head. "It was just my mother being my mother. Hounding me about why I wasn't at the house. Why I hadn't called her and told her I would be there to pick things up for the will."

Before thinking Rory asked. "Why does it matter? It's not like she was there."

Logan scoffed quietly and nodded. "That's exactly what I said to her, but it didn't seem to matter. She just kept demanding to know what I was doing, every single little thing that I was doing."

Rory reached over and took his hand in hers as a small frown formed on her lips. "I'm sorry Logan. I wish I could fix it. I know there isn't anything I can do that will help Shira be less of a dragon lady. But if I could, I would."

Logan squeezed her hand beore releasing it to start the car. Once he had pulled away from the curb he took her hand back in his. "I know you would, and that means more than you know." he said softly, he was lost in his own head a little bit anda didn't know exactly what all to say. Luckily the drive to Lorelai and Luke's house didn't take too long.

"I'll come in and thank them. Then we can head to the city." Logan said as he got out of the car, along with Rory.

"Sounds good." Rory said with a smile as she opened the door and led them into the living room. "Mom! Luke? Are you guys home?"

"In the kitchen loinfruit." Lorelai's voice came.

"Don't call her that, it's weird." came the gruffer voice of Luke.

Rory laughed, and Logan simply smiled as they headed into the kitchen. "We just came by so I could pick up a bag of stuff before going to the city with Logan." Rory said as way of explination before she passed her mother and step father by and entered her bedroom. She grabbed an old purple duffel bag, and filled it with several different outfits before carrying it back to the kitchen.

"Rory, are you sure that its wise for you to be trekking all over the world in your condition?" Luke asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked over at her from where he stood cooking at the stove.

Rory was a little surprised at the question, while she and Luke had never had any real problems, she knew he had a hard time trusting Logan or letting his step daughter go off with him.

"Luke, I'll be okay. Logan wont let me do anything that I shouldn't. Plus he needs someone on his side while his family goes through this."

Luke simply nodded.

"Well, stay safe and call whenever you want." Lorelai said. She too was a little apprehensive about whatever was going on between her daughter and the heir to the Huntzburger dynasty, but she knew her daughter would make the right choice.

"I'll take good care of her." Logan said, taking the bag from Rory so she wouldn't have to carry it. "Thank you for letting me crash here for a couple of days. It was really nice of both of you."

After a few more minutes of small talk and a round of kisses from Paul Anka, the duo were back outside and Logan was stashing Rory's bag in the trunk of the car. After shutting the trunk he looked at Rory and sighed. "I wish Luke would come around to me being around again."

Rory joined him behind the car and wrapped her arms around him in a hug, looking into his eyes she smiled. "He will Logan, I promise. It just takes him some time. And that's true about everything. It took him six weeks once to change to a new razor brand. So it will all work out."

Logan nodded, feeling a little bit better after Rory reassured him. He leaned down and placed a quick kiss on her lips before breaking it and the hug they shared. "I hope so."


	19. Chapter 19

"When was the last time that you were here?" Logan asked as he fumbled with his keychain before finding the correct key to open the front door to his apartment.

Rory laughed and shook her head. "I've never been to this one."

"Are you sure?" Logan asked as he pushed the door open and led them into a dark apartment.

"The one in Vegas, yes. The one in London, yes. Various hotels, yes. But I never came to this one. You had moved when we started hanging out again, and I never came here. I don't know why, we never really talked about it." Rory responded

Logan groped the wall for a light switch, before flipping it and illuminating the entry way to the sparsly but masculinely decorated apartment. "Huh, I swore you had been here before." He shrugged. "Well, you're here now." He smiled taking her bag from her and setting it on the couch. "There's two bedrooms. There might not be much in the spare one other than a bed and TV. It's usually where Finn and the guys crash when they come."

Rory made a disgusted face as she looked at Logan. "You did santize them after Finn slept in there last."

Logan laughed deeply and nodded. "Yes, the maid comes every week, and cleans everything even if it doesn't need it. So all essence of Finn is gone." He moved away from her and around the room as he shuffled papers off the coffee table and into a pile which he put on the top of the bookshelf. "If you want we can order some food, and watch movies. Or I can take you out. I would cook, but there's no food in the house so I would have to go to the grocery store..."

Rory let him ramble on for a few more minutes before she stopped him. She walked over and put her fingers on his lips. "Shh, Logan. Calm down. Whatever you want to do is fine." She had never thought Logan as a nervous person. In all the years that she had known him, she could probably count on one hand the amount of times that she had actually seen him act or seem nervous.

"Sorry, guess the last few days are just catching up with me." The blonde answered as way of explination.

"Ordering in is fine. But aren't there things that you have to do?" Rory asked a she moved onto the couch.

Logan smiled and dissapeared into the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with a stack of menus. " I do, but they can wait till later or tomorrow." He paused That's the good part about living in the city, we can order just about everything you could possibly want." Logan lowered himself to the other end of the couch and handed the menu's over before adding. "There's even a food cart a few blocks away that only serves things made with Nutella in them. They'll deliver for an extra twenty bucks."

"You lead a charmed life Huntzburger." Rory joked as she looked through the menus in her lap. Sushi was out, because she couldn't eat fish. Chinese gave her indegestion ever since she got pregant. She finally found one for an Italian place with a large plate of spaghetti on their brochure. She held it up and looked at Logan. "Italian?"

Logan smiiled and took the brochure. "Whatever makes the lady happy. " Logan laughed as he opened the brochure. "I assume you want chicken parm, extra cheesey breadsticks and cheesecake."

"You know me so well." Rory said as she felt herself relax. When they had first walked into Logan's apartment, she was a little on edge. Afraid there would be reminders of Odette in the apartment, even though she had never so much as seen a stray earring in all the time she had been seeing Logan while he was "engaged" to Odette.

"I'll order it online." Logan said with a smile as he tapped at the keys of his oversized smartphone. "Here try to figure out the smart TV." He chuckled handing her the remote. "It is apparently way too smart for me."

Rory took the remote that seemed to have a hundred buttons on it and fiddled with various combinations until the tv a few feet in front of them finally came to life. With a trimphant smile she hit the arrow button until she landed on the icon for Netflix.

"Well look at you whizzing your way right along." Logan teased as he set his phone down and turned his attention back to Rory. "Food will be here in an hour."

"Perfect." Rory said as she scrolled through the suggestions Netflix was presenting them with. "Is there anything in particular that y ou want to watch?"

"To be honest I don't even know what is on Netflix. I never get to use it. It was just part of the internet package so I have it. I think I've spent three hours total watching it."

Rory entered something in the search bar and smiled when The Twilight Zone showed up. She hit the play button and looked over and smirked at Logan. "I think we can agree on this."

Logan just laughed. "Do you still have the rocket?"

Rory bit her tongue before nodding. "Yeah, its in storage in Hartford. But I still have it."

Logan's eyes lit up before he practically jumped off the couch and smiled. "Stay right there."

Rory who was a little confused nodded. Logan vanished down the hallway and into what she assumed was the master bedroom. After some thumping and other various noises that one associates with moving stuff a round Logan returned with a brown leather briefcase. Rory instantly recognized it as the one she purchased hiim before he left for London right after graduation.

She laughed. "You still have that?"

"Of course, but that's not all. Look inside." he said with a playful grin as he handed it over.

Rory tilted her head and stared at him for a couple of seconds before moving her gaze down to the worn and supple leather briefcase in her lap. She unfastened it and was surprisied by what she found inside. A black photo album tied in simple white ribbon was the only thing in the bag.

"There pictures of us, of you, of everything we've done over the years. Finn's birthday party where I got jealous of you coming with Robert, all the way up to the infamous putt putt night."

Rory was blown away as she pulled the ribbon off and slowly opened up the book containing so much of the past she had shared with Logan. Looking up at him, she felt her eyes grow misty as she fought to find the words to express what she was feeling. She knew she had kept things from their relationship and past, but she hadn't really ever pegged him as being so sentimental that he might. She was amazed, and touched.

"Don't cry Ace. I thought you'd like seeing this." Logan said as he took his seat next to her .

"Oh Logan, I'm not sad. This is. I just. I never thought you kept all of these. Or had pictures from that night." She smiled through the tears that were now flowing openenly.


	20. Chapter 20

"I...I can't believe this." Rory said, she had been in complete shock since she had pulled the photo album out of the old leather briefcase.

"Why not?" Logan asked as he stared intently at Rory, waiting for her response.

"I dont now. I guess I never thought of you as the sentimental type." Rory said softly as she flipped through the first several pages, fingering the pictures, remembering the moments that were captured on film.

"Rory, you were the only girl I'ver ever been serious about. The only one who I have ever considered marrying." Logan said as he glanced from the pictures displayed in the open book back to Rory's tearstained face. "Of course I'm sentimental about the only girl I've ever loved."

Rory had heard him say those words, or at least words similar to them before. But hearing them again, after everything they had been through in the last few days was making it hit her harder. "I guess I never really thought of it that way." She said her voice barely above a whisper as she flipped the page to the first trip they took as a couple to Stars Hollow. She knew that hearing what she just heard, the photo album and her pregnancy hormones could be a dangerous combination if she let them, and cause her to make rushed decisions concerning Logan so she took a deep breath trying to remember that they were too old to just jump right back into a relationship. Especially with a baby to think about now. They had stuff they had to work through, and right after his father dying was probably not the best time for Logan to jump into a relationship anyway.

"Are you okay Ace? I didn't mean to upset you. I just wanted you to know the truth." Logan said gently as he reached over and brushed the tears away from her eye. "We can put the book away if you want."

Rory didn't want to put the photo album away, she wanted to spend hours studying each and every picture, all the happy memories that she had shared with Logan. But she knew if she kept going through them, she would go with her heart and not with her head, and they both needed some time. They needed to do it right this time, and take things slow. Against what her own wishes slowly shut the photo album and handed it and the briefcase back to Logan. "I'm sorry, my hormones are making me a giant baby. I want to look through it, but its just too much right now."

Logan nodded and stowed the book into the briefcase and stuck it out of site under the coffee table. After w ards he reached over and took Rory's hand in his. "I'm so sorry Ace. I just wanted you to see that I kept things too. There's other stuff in the closet back there. But seeing the water works show that the album brought on, maybe we should wait a little bit before diving into that." He teased gently trying to get the brunette to smile.

Rory 's face cracked into a small smile and squeezed the blonde's hand back. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." She said using her free hand to wipe the rest of the tears off her face.

Logan laughed softly. "Don't apologize. It's okay."

They sat next to each other , hand in hand for a few quiet moments before Rory felt completely calmed down. "So I don't usually have people other than the guys here, so beverage chocies are limmited." Logan paused to think for a second. "There's Gatorade and Orange juice in the fridge. Pregnant people can have those things right?"

Rory laughed. "Yeah. I mean orange juice gives me indegestion like no other. But Gatorade is fine."

"Well, if you end up staying for more than a day or two we can go pick up something. Or you can make a list and I'll pick it up. "

"I am capable of shopping sitll Logan." Rory said. "I mean in a few weeks I won't be able to see my feet, but shopping I can stiill do." She gasped and looked at him. "That reminds me I need to reschedule my appointment with Paris so we can make sure that you can come."

"Tomorrow I will go to the offices, and talk to the lawyers but after you talk to her just tell me a date and time, and I'll be there. I'll even come pick you up wherever you are."

Rory smiled and looked at him, noticing they had been holding hands for several minutes. "I'll talk to her tomorrow. Paris can be quite taxing, and I don't have the energy for her today." Rory said.

Logan snorted with laughter barely able to choke out his words. "You don't say." After recovering from his laughter he let go of her hand and stood up. "I'm going to get some water, do you want anything?"

"Water is fine." Rory responded as she snuggled into the couch and turned her attenton to the black and white television show that was playing softly on the tv.


	21. Chapter 21

"Your food my lady." Logan said with a horrible British accent as he returned to the couch with bags of food in each hand.

"This looks like an awful lot of food for two people." Rory said as she sat up on the edge of the couch and took the bag Logan held out to her.

"Well, I have training eating with Gimore's and I figured it was bette to be prepared. So I ordered double of everything plus two servings of tiramisu." he explained as he pulled various plastic to go containers out of the bag. Rory emptied her bag in a stack on t he table and then grinned.

"You're awfully sweet." Rory responded as she dug in the bottom of the bag for a fork. "They can say what they want about you Huntzburger, but you are awfully good at providing a good meal."

"Thanks...I think." Logan responded as he popped a styrofoam container open and sunk his fork into some carbonara.

As the two ate, they talked about the food, the tv show and other small talk. Once they were sufficently stuffed with pasta and dessert , they both leaned back on the couch. After a moment of silence Logan looked over at Rory. "Since it's still pretty early , what do y ou w ant to do?"

"In all honestly, I want to nap." Rory said plainly as she stifled a yawn .

Logan reached behind himself and grabbed a pillow laying it in his lap. "Well come here Ace. We can watch tv, and you can sleep. I'll catch up with my emails." He nodded towards his phone which was laying beside him on the arm rest.

Rory thought for a second. As much as she knew she should go crawl into the spare bedroom, the pillow in Logan's lap sounded and looked too inviting and comfortale for her to say no. She kicked her shes off and stretched out, laying her head softly on the plush throw pillow.

"I'm sorry I'm so lame" Rory said a few minutes later, her voice already heavy with sleep. By the time that Logan respondeed, she was already out cold. Logan watched her sleep for several silent seconds before picking up his phone and scrolling through what seemed like endless emails from people offering condolencens for the passing of his father. He wanted to believe that the sentiments were from their hearts, he had a hard time thinkinig that they were. Absentmindly he found his free hand running throgh Rory's hair. It was as if it were second nature.

Of course in some ways it was. That simple gesture was something that he had done thousands if not millions of times before. It had been something he had done to calm her down countless times before, but this time it seemd to be calming him down. She didn't seem to mind, of course she was also dead to the world.

"Whatcha doin?" a still half asleep voice asked nearly a half hour later.

Logan looked down at her and smiled. "I read about a billion bullshit emails saying how much Mitchum was going to be missed. Then I played with your hair and watched half an episode of Twilight Zone."

"Yeah, I wondered why you stopped." Rory said, a smile lazily playing on her lips.

"Oh, I was worried that I woke you up by doing it." Logan responded.

Rory shook her head minimally and laughed as she woke up a little more. "I only woke up when you stopped. I guess I'm still used to you doing it a lot." She shrugged the best she could while still in the laying position "Muscle memory or some other scientific term that I cant think of while I'm not fully awake." She pouted. "Not having coffe stinks."

Logan laughed. "Well did you at least have a good nap?"

"It was, until a certain blonde stopped playing with my hair." She said sticking her tongue out.

"Well whatever can I do to make it up to you?" Logan said teasing her.

Rory sat up and rubbed her eyes as she thought about it. She knew that there probably wasn't anything she could say that Logan wouldn't do for heer, but she didn't want to take advantage of him. "How about a movie?"

"Are you going to stay up for it?"

She laughed and looked at him. "I don't know, I can't make any promises."

"Well that's good enough for me." Logan said with a grin. "Pick a movie. I'm going to change into something more comfortale." he added before getting up off the couch and padding his way into his bedroom to change.


	22. Chapter 22

""What did you pick Ace?" Logan asked as he walked back into the room a few minutes later. Rory glanced up at him from where she had been studying the selection of movies on Netflix. Rory stiffled a giggle as she took in the "more comfortable" outfit that he had changed into. His shirt was a gag gift that Finn had given him while she was the editor at Yale Daily News, across the front in bright blue letters it read, "I slept with the editor of the Yale Daily News and all I got was this lousy t-shirt." His bottoms were black sweat pants.

"Nice shirt Logan." Rory laughed, more than spoke.

"I thought you'd appreciate it." He made his way to the fridge and grabbed two Gatorades, one for himself and one in case Rory wanted one."So what movie?"

"It's a toss up between Attack of Killer Tomatoes and Snakes on a Plane. But first can I change into jammies?" She asked softly.

"So apparently its bad movie night?" Logan asked with a grin as he sat down. "And Ace, of course you can change first. You don't have to ask me."

Rory smiled and set the remote down on the coffee table. "You make the final decision on the movie, and I'll be back soon." With that she picked up her bag off the floor where they had moved it to make room to sit on the couch, and made her way into the guest bedroom. Quickly she pulled out a faded New York Times tshirt and pair of Pink sweats. She changed quickly, pulling her hair into a messy pony tail, and slipping her feet into a pair of soft gray slippers that she had stuck into her bag. After she messed with her hair for a couple more seconds, she went back t o the living room.

"How do you do that?" Logan asked as she settled in on the couch next to him.

"Do what?" Rory asked with a surprised look on her face.

"Wear something as simple as a ratty old t-shirt and a pair of sweats, and still look stunning."

Rory blushed. "I'm four months pregnant, smell like garlic and cheese and t his shirt is nearly ten years old. Are you sure you haven't been drinking vodka instead of water?"

"What can I say? Garlic and cheese are aphrodisiacs." Logan joked as he put his left arm up on the couch , welcoming her to come cuddle.

It took the brunette a split second before crawling over and cuddling up against the blonde. "Hi." She said softly as she tilted her head up to look at him.

"Hi back." He said softly before closing the space between them and kissing her.

"So what movie did we decide on?" she asked after a few secinds,.

"Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. It looks so bad that it might be good."

"Wait, are you Logan Huntzburger telling me that you have never seen it?" Rory asked sitting up a little bit and getting a very nearly completely serious look on her face.

"I saw parts of it with you, but I was drunk and half asleep."

"Well then you are in for a treat. And if you like it, there's a second one." She replied as she settled back against him.

Logan laughed as he hit the play button and the intro credits to the B list horror film started rolling.

After several minutes and many laughs from both Logan paused the movie. "So, wait what exactly is happening?"

Rory laughed, "There giant tomatoes that are taking over the world. What is there not to understand?"

Logan laughed. "So there aren't like Aliens that have posioned all the tomatoes and then ..." He paused and laughed. "I don't even know where I'm going to go with this."

"It's better if you just watch and try to not ask questions." Rory laughed as she stole the remote and hit the play button.

As the end credits played Rory sat up fully to look at Logan. "Well?" She asked with her head tilted, waiting for his final judgement on the movie they had just finished.

Logan laughed rubbing the back of his neck as he searched for the right words to say. "It's safe to say we won't be watching the second one anytime soon."

"How can you not love a movie about killer tomatoes? All that fancy learnin' didn't teach you to appreciate the finer things in life." Rory teased as she put on a fake southern drawl.

"I'll try to refine my movie preferences so they align with yours better m'dear." Logan said with a soft chuckle.

Rory yawned for probably the fifteenth time in as many minutes. And Logan stood up, holding his hand out. "C'mon sleeping beauty. Let's get you to bed." Rory obliged and stood, taking his hand.

"I'll be in my room, if you need anything at all just come get me. Or yell really loudly." He teased as he led her into the spare bedroom. "There are extra blankets in the closet, the remote is on the nightstand. If you want to take a shower there are towels in the bathroom."

Rory smiled as she kicked off her slippers and then turned back to Logan. "Thank you. What time do you have to leave tomorrow morning?"

"Six or seven. I'm going to take go ahead and go to the offices before most of the people will be there. I should be back by ten thirty or eleven."

"Do I need to come with?" Rory asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.

Logan shrugged. "That's up to you. I can handle it by myself. But if you really want to come see the offices, i wouldn't say no to the company." he ended with a smile.

"I just thought it might be weird for you to go in to your dad's office without your dad being there anymore." Rory said as gently as she could.

"That's very sweet of you." Logan paused as he looked down at her. "If you are awake when I am getting ready to go, then I would love the company." he smiled as he leaned down and kissed her goodnight. He knew that if he didn't break away from her soon, he'd stay up all night talking to her. "We can go to lunch afterwards."

"Okay. I'll see you in the morning." Rory said as she felt the ever present pregnancy drowsieness pull at her. "Goodnight Logan."

Logan smiled and said goodnight, pausing in the doorway and looking at her for a couple seconds before turning off the light and making his way out of the room and down the hall to his own.


	23. Chapter 23

Rory awoke the next morning with a smile on her face. As she grabbed clothes out of her bag, and walked to the bathroom she was almost in her own little world. It wasn't until she was already in the bathroom that she realized that somone else was in the shower already.

"Logan?" She said loudly as she stood almost frozen in the door way.

Sure enough a blonde head stuck out from between the shower wall and the dark blue shower curtain hung. "Were you expecting someone else?" He teased. "Close the door, you're letting all the steam out." He added.

Rory took a few more small steps into the bathroom, unsure if she should really stay in the room while he showered. But deciding she had seen it all before, it probably didn't really matter. She was carrying his baby afterall. She kicked the door shut behind her and then looked at Logan.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't even paying attention. I didn't realize you were in here." Rory said with a nervous chuckle.

"Ace. It doesn't matter. There's nothing in this shower that you haven't seen. Other than my new shampoo. I ran out of the other stuff and switched to something that the girl at Bed Bath and Beyond told me would make me smell good.

"You always were a sucker for salesgirls." Rory teased as she perched herself on top of the closed toilet seat.

"Hey! That's not fair." Logan exclaimed followed by a chuckle before he dissapeared fully back behind the shower curtain.

"It's accurate though." Rory teased. "Just don't use up all the hot water."

"I wouldn't dare. I'd hate to upset the hormonal lady this early in the day." Rory heard something that sounded like Logan soaping up his hair. "If you want to come still, we can head to the offices after you shower and get ready."

"Okay." Rory said, surprsied that she wasn't more nervous about going to the offices. Sure Mitchum was dead, but the whole company had known about Odette. She wasn't sure how they would react to Rory showing up. Even if her and Logan weren't anything other than parents of the baby she was carrying, at least for now. She knew that she was starting to look more and more pregnant by the day, and chances were someone in the office would blame the whole Odette split on her if they saw them together. Even so, she wanted to be there for Logan, and the fact that the senior Huntzburger was gone did alleviate some of her stress. "I don't really have anything to wear."

"Ace. It doesn't matter what you wear. We are only going to be there for an hour or two tops." he paused to turn the water off and grab his towel. "And if anyone says anything to you that you don't like, I'll handle them."

Rory nodded, she knew Logan would protect her. He had always been fairly good at that. As Logan stepped out of the shower with the towel wrapped around his waist, the brunette coudln't help but stare.

"Your turn." Logan said with a smile as he stepped around her to get to the sink and medicine cabinet. "Don't worry I won't stare as you get undressed." he added turning around to face her and flash her a smirk.

Rory stood and leaned over kissing his cheek. "Thatta boy." Rory laughed as she stepped closer to the shower and hung her towel over the curtain rod, and peeled her clothes off, before stepping into the shower she looked over her shoulder and saw Logan peeking over at her. "I saw that Huntzburger." She said teasingly as she stepped into the shower and tunred the water on, letting a small shriek out when the stream of water that hit her was a little colder than she had anticipated.

"I like looking at beautiful things." Logan explained. "So sue me."

Rory showered quickly, as Logan finished his morning routine. When she stepped out of the shower nearly ten minutes later she was alone in the bathroom. She dried herself off, pulled on her clothes, a simple pair of black slacks and a light pink sweater. The weather had been cooler the last few days, and she didn't want to be chilled while they were out and about. After drying her hair the best she could with the towel ,she made her way back into the room. She passed Logan in the hallway and caught a whiff of the aftershave she had always known him to wear.

"I'll be ready in a few. Just gotta put mascara on and grab my shoes and purse." she said.

"Alright babe. I'll be in the kitchen."

Rory did her best to contain her smile at the petname as she went into the spare room to finish getting ready.


	24. Chapter 24

"There's not a chance that your mother will be there is there?" Rory asked as they rode along in traffic. The offices were only a couple of dozen of blocks away from Logan's apartment, but he refused to let Rory walk.

"The chances are very minimal. She never showed up at the office while he was alive. I don't exactly see her showing up now that he's not around anymore." Logan said. Glancing over, he could see the faintest traces of worry etching Rory's delicate features. Wanting to comfort her the best he could even though he was driving Logan reached over with his free hand and took hers. "Rory, she's not going to be there. And even if she was, she would at least attempt to be civil in front of other people. She knows people are going to be watching her to see what she does in public. She may not make the best decisions but she will put her quote unquote best foot forward while at the company."

Rory nodded, comforted more by his hand holding hers than by the words he said. "I just don't want to deal with her." She said as her phone dinged with a new message. "Oh good a distraction." She thought to herself as she pulled her phone out of her purse. Reading it quickly she looked at Logan. "It's Paris. I texted her last night. She says she can see us next at 4pm."

Logan smiled. "I'll make it work. Tell her we will be there." Rory nodded and typed out a responde to Paris before sliding her phone back into her purse.

For the next several minutes, there was no noise in the car except for the road noise. Logan broke the silence finally. "Ace. Can I ask you something?"

The brunette turned her head so she was looking right at Logan and nodded. "Of course." She could by the blonde's facial expression that whatever he was about to ask was important.

"Would you conisder dating me again?"

Rory took a deep breath and looked at him. Half stunned that those words had just come out of his mouth and half relieved that it wasn't one of the other millions of questions she had invisioned him asking. "Yes, Logan. Of course I would." She said quietly and calmly, even though her heart felt like it was going to leap out of her chest.

"Are you saying yes to conisdering it, or yes to dating me again?" He asked, a smile playing on his lips and extending all the way to his twinkling eyes.

"Well, are you asking me out.?" Rory asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"I wasn't at first. But I guess I am now." Logan replied quickly.

"Well then I guess my answer is yes." Rory said with a smile that seemed to threaten to rip her face in half.

"To us actually dating right?"Logan laughed. "I just don't want there to be any confusion." he added.

"Yes, Logan. " Rory said as they slowed to a stop at a red light. As if from a scene in a cheesey Hallmark movie Logan leaned over and kissed her and whispered.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

"So, we're really going to do this aren't we?" Rory asked with a grin as they started driving agian.

"Yes, we are really going to do this." Logan feeling a sense of peace that he hadn't felt in a long time.

Logan pulled the car into a dimly lit parking garage a few minutes later. Rory laughed as she checked out the surroundings. "Seems like the perfect place for a murder movie."

"As far as I know, no one has been murdered here." Logan joked back as he eased the car into the first parking spot he could find. "Although I'm sure people tried to murder dad here a time or two."

After the blonde pulled the keys out of the ignition, he grabbed his phone and got out. Shutting t he door behind him he swiftly made his way around to the passenger side where he opened the door for Rory. She took the hand that he held out for her, and allowed him to help her out.

"Right this way." Logan said as he held on to her hand and led her to a elevator across the parking lot. As if they were waiting for them, the doors opened almost immediately after they arrived. "We've gotta take this to the sixth floor and then there's a glassed in bridge walkway that will take us over to the office building. I thought it was stupid when dad had it built. And I still think its stupid." Logan said as they the doors shut behind them and he mashed the glowing button next to the bronze six on the elevator panel.

"Seems like something your dad would throw money at." Rory said with a snort of laughter as they crossed the fully enclosed bridge a few moments later. "Especially with the gold H's everywhere. Very Mitchum."

"He wanted everyone to know just who's bridge this was. He wouldn't let anyone but family go across it." Logan laughed. "Odette wasn't even allowed to cross it with me when she came for photo ops."

Rory frowned at the mention of her name. While she believed Logan when he had told her that there was and never had been anything between himself and Odette, her name still brought on some weird feelings.

Logan caught one look of her face, and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I won't mention her again. But just so you know. You don't ever have anything to worry about. She could never even of held a candle to you, even if she tried. She's no Gilmore."

"We're a rare breed." Rory said, feeling comforted. Logan gave a slight smile and nod before keying in a code and pushing the door open to the office building.

The whole reception area was decorated in expensive art, gold accented vases and lamps and cream colored fabrics. The same gold H that she had noticed in the walkway was stamped, and priinted in various places throughout.

"Well. This is almost exactly what I expected." Rory said, not sure if she should laugh or not. Depsite the way he was raised and the house he had grown up in, Logan had much simpler tastes when it came to decorating.

"Well you have seen the house, and it was the same decorator." Logan said with a smirk as he led her down the hallway to a big wooden door that said Mitchum Huntzburger in large gold letters across the door.


	25. Chapter 25

"So this is the office where Mitchum ruined lives?" Rory asked as they stepped into the large office and Logan switched on the light.

"That's one way to describe it." He said with a chuckle as he moved over to a filing cabinet and searched for several folders. "You can sit at the desk if you want. I just have to pull some files, check his messages and voicemails and then print the instructions for the memorial service." He paused pulling a thick manilla envelope out of the second drawer before adding. "Not that anyone would want to remember him for anything more than their paycheck."

"That's not nice Logan." Rory said laughing.

"Well, neither was he." Logan rebuttled, and Rory not able to come with a good enough comeback walked around the desk to see what the man that she long held a distaste for looked at while he worked. Where normal fathers and husbands would have pictures of their kids and wives, Mitchum had awards and pictures of himself shaking hands of various business men. "

"I don't know what I was expecting." Rory muttered as she glanced from picture to picture.

Logan looked up from the filing cabinet he was busy pulling things out of. "Did you find the one of him and Reagan? That was always his favorite"

Rory picked up a heavy gold and black frame and laughed. "Odd. I didn't think your fathers beliefs would align with Reagans."

"I don't think my father had any beliefs other than in money." Logan answered as he shut the filing cabinet and made his way around Rory to the chair. Sitting down he looked up at her and smiled. "Thanks for coming with me."

Rory nodded. "No big deal. Afterall, what are girlfriends for."

Logan laughed pulling her into his lap and brushing the stray hairs out of her eyes. "You weren't my girlfriend when you offered to come with me."

Rory laughed shushing him. "Shhh, don't ruin the moment." She whispered before kissing softly. The two got lost in the moment, a simple kiss turned into something more and they weren't exactly sure how much time had passed when they heard someone clear their throat a few feet away from them.

Rory pulled away and jumped up quickly and saw Logan scoot up to the desk as if to hide something before speaking to their visitor. "Can I help you?"

The older balding man in the dark charcoal suit blushed and cleared his throat again. "I don't know if you remember me. I'm Sturart Potter. I've worked with your dad for fifteen years. Anyway. I have the Will papers and information you left a message about." He said producing a fat folder from behind his back.

Logan held his hand out and nodded. "Thank you. Why dont you and the rest of the office take the day off.I will send out a memo when I know what is going on and when the funeral is."

The look that passed across the older gentleman's face could only be explained as shock and bewilderment, nontheless he nodded and excused himself from the office.

"Well...welll...well" Rory said when Stuart was out of earshot. "Still seducing women in innappropriate places." Rory teased as she leaned against the desk to the right of him.

"Only one woman." Logan laughed as he gathered up the folders and put them in a stack on the corner of the desk. "It's not my fault she's so distracting."

Rory laughed. "Oh just finish up what needs to be done here, so we can leave. That was so awkward."

"Aye aye" Logan said with a grin as he hit the power button on the top of the line computer and and waited for it to boot up.

"Ooof." Rory said after a few seconds.

"What's wrong? Ace are you okay?" Logan asked, a concerned look evident in his eyes.

Rory laughed as she reached out and guided his hand to her belly where the baby was moving. "Just the baby moving. Nothing's wrong."

Logan realxed and smiled as he felt the slight jumps under his hand. "I will get used to this eventually. " he said. His hand stayed on Rory's stomach until the computer finished booting up he turned his attention to checking his father's email. "Just what I thought, nothing that's worth reading." He hastily hit the button and sighed. "I've just about had enough of being here for today. I can check his voicemail from my phone. I got the folders let's get out of here."

Rory who was glad that they were leaving stood up. "Do you want me to carry anything?"

Logan shook his head as he gathered the stack of folders under his arm. "I got this. Let's just leave. And you can take joy in the fact that you'll have walked across Mitchum's sacred walkway twice.

Rory grinned, there was something so satisfying knowing that Mitchum would be beside himself in anger if he were alive and could see her on the walkway.

As they walked across it a few minutes later, she looked at Logan a little sheepishly and laughed. "How bad of a person does it make me that I really enjoy that me walking across this would ruin Mitchum's day."

"It makes you perfectly normal babe." Logan said as they were once again in the parking structure.

"Well as long as you think so. That's all that matters." she said happily as they stepped into the elevator.

"Logan?" she asked once they were back in the car.

"Mhm?" he answered as he backed the car out of the parking space and headed out of the parking garage.

"What's going to happen to the company?"

"That's why the will was so important. No one knows who get's it or if it's supposed to be sold, or what." Logan sighed. "I'll have to read over the documents and find out what he wanted."

Rory groaned. "Oh that sounds like a barrel of laughs. Do you need to do that right now?"

Logan shrugged. "No, I should probably do it today. But it's only nine thirty am. So I probably habe time." He glanced over at her, eyebrow raised. "Why? Whatcha thinking?"

"Let's go to Yale. Take a walk around campus?"

Logan wasn't exactly sure why Rory would want to do such a thing, but he was going to endulge her and that was for certain. "Sure. Let's stop and change into something less stuffy and then we can go by Yale. Maybe even cocoa puffs and ice cream while we are there." He said with a laugh. "Although I think your student meal plan has long since ran out."He laughed remembering one of their first dates. "And I don't think my key still works." He teased.


	26. Chapter 26

"Why did you bring a camera?" Logan asked as he opened the passenger side door for Rory to get in. They had stopped at the apartment and both changed into more comfortable shoes.

Rory smiled a little sheepishly, as she got into the car and answered his question. "I thought it would be nice to get some new pictures for that photo album."

"So, no more crying over the photo album?" Logan asked before shutting the door after her and then making his way to the drivers seat and getting behind the wheel.

"Well I can't promise that there won't be any more tears, but if there are some they'll be happy."

"I can handle that." Logan said with a grin as he started the car and pulled away from the curb.

The drive to Yale took a couple hours, the travel time extended by a stop at a greasy looking truck stop where Rory got the biggest pile of chili fries either of them had ever seen.

Logan pulled up in front of the school they had both attentded early in the afternoon, and glanced over to see the look of wonder on Rory's face. She was like that about places she held close to her heart, no matter how many times she had been there, a part of her was still in awe. It was a trait that Logan had always admired about the brunette.

"It hasn't changed a bit." Rory said as they snaked around campus to the visitors parking lot.

"I actually haven't been back since your graduation." Logan admitted as he found a parking spot and pulled in.

"I came back after Grandpa died, they wanted to name a wing after him and someone in the family had to be here."

Logan raised an eyebrow as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "I didn't know Richard had a wing named after him." He paused to laugh, "That would of torn Mitchum apart. For all the things he did. He never got anything at a college named after him."

"Grandpa would of been happy that he one upped a Huntzburger, even in death." Rory teased morbidly as they got out of the car.

As if it was the most natural thing in the world, the pair connected at the trunk end of the car, and interlaced their fingers holding hands as they headed towards campus.

"We can go by Branford, and then the library and of course the gift shop." Logan teased. "I know Gilmore's can't go anywhere without stopping at the gift shop.

Rory laughed as she teetered onto her tippy toes and planted a kiss on Logan's cheek. "They might have new can cosies, or sweaters. Or baby clothes. Never too early to buy the baby Yale clothes."

Logan chuckled. "We can't be those parents. We can't force him or her to go to a college just because we went there."

"Of course not. "Rory said then laughed. "But we can nudge little one in the right direction." she said with a grin as they wove their way through the students mingling in groups scattered throughut campus.

"Man, nothing makes you feel old quite like being around a bunch of college kids." Logan muttered as they passed into the courtyard in front of Branford Hall.

Rory playfully jabbed her boyfriend in the ribs and teased. "That's because you are old Logan."

"If I'm old so are you." He teased right back as they paused in front of the benches and took in their surroundings.

"Not true. I'm a year younger." She laughed.

In responde Logan just stuck his tongue out. Rory laughed and sat on the bench that they had paused in front of. After a few moments she looked up at Logan, and smiled. "I spent a lot of time reading here."

Logan lowered himself down next to her and put his arm around her. "That doesn't surprise me. it seems like a very Rory place to study. Unlike that tree that you paid twenty bucks to sit at."

Rory laughed. "I can't believe you remember that story."

Logan smiled softly. "I remember a lot of what you told me. All your stories are important to me, because they are a part of who you are."

Rory was touched, when they had parted ways after the night of drinking, dancing and rooftop golf she had remained sentinmental about all things Logan, even though she tried not to be. But she was a little surprised to find out how much he had been. It was a side of Logan she had never really seen, at least not as as strongly as she was now. Over the last couple of days she had really started to see how much Logan had always cared for her. She put her hand on the side of his face and kissed him deeply.

Pulling back with a goofy grin on his face he asked. "What was that for?" he paused "Not that I'm complaining or anything."

"Just for being you." Rory said. They sat for a few more minutes before Logan stood up and pulled Rory up with him.

"Next stop, the library" Logan said as he started leading her in the direction of one of the many libraries on campus. "We can relive you smelling books." 'he teased playfullly.


	27. Chapter 27

"It feels like a lifetime ago, doesn't it?" Logan asked as he watched Rory shuffle through the old leatherbound books that lined the shelves which surrounded them.

"It was a lifetime ago. Think about how much has happened since that day." Rory said matter of factly as her fingers stopped on a well worn dark volume as she slid it easily from the shelf. She flipped it open to a random page and held it close to her face, closing her eyes and taking a deep whiff of it. When she opened her eyes and looked at Logan over the book he had a smirk on his face.

"A lot has happened since the last time I saw you do that, but some things never change." He grinned. He watched her look at several more books before she put the last volume back on the shelf and turned her attention back to Logan.

"Let's go find the wing in the buisness school that's named for grandpa. I know that grandma will want to see pictures of it." Rory said extending her hand for him to take.

After a few wrong turns, they ended up in the buisness school and within minutes they found the wing that bore Richard Gilmore in bright shiny letters across the entryway. On either wall were pictures of him. Varying from when he himself was in school to when he came back and taught while Rory was a student. Rory released Logan's hand and walked over to the large framed picture that she recognized as his staff photo from when he taught in this very building. She brushed the picture wistfully as she studied the stern face looking back at her.

Logan knowing how close they had been, allowed her the space and time that she needed. It wasn't until Rory reappeared at his side again that he spoke. "Are you okay Ace?"

Rory wiped at her eyes and nodded. "Yeah. It just. It still doesn't feel like he's gone. You know?"

Logan nodded and took the camera from her. "Go stand over by the pictures. Ill snap a couple for Emily."

Rory smiled and went back to where she had just been, posing for a few photographs before rejoining Logan once again. As her hand found his, she smiled up at him. "Thank you Logan, for bringing me here. For not calling me crazy because I wanted to come back to Yale. For everything." She squeezed his hand as an added token of thanks.

"Well you are crazy, but for totally different reasons." The blonde said with a slight smirk as they set off down the hallway and out of the large buisiness building. "But you're welcome." He looked around, classes must have just let out because there were a decent amount more people mulling around then when they had been outside a few moments earlier. "Do you still want to go to the cafeteria, or do you wanna head back?"

Rory thought for several long seconds before responding to Logan's question. The emotions of visiting the Richard Gilmore wing, as well as just being back on campus with Logan at her side were starting to wear on her. They weren't all bad, but they were taxing. "Let's just go back to the apartment. You can go over your dad's will, and I can check in with the gazette and make sure it got out okay."

"Okay. To tell you the truth I wasn't really looking forward to the cafeteria except for sentimental reasons. That last year, the food got pretty bad." He said as they walked through campus and back in the direction of the car.

Rory paused in front of the main entrance, and turned to Logan. "We need a picture of us here. New memories and all." She flagged down a girl dressed in all baggy clothes and had her snap a couple shots, thanking her before they were on their way again. "Now we have new pictures of us." She said with a smile.

"Ace. Ace. Wake up. We're back." Logan said as he gently jostled the sleeping brunette's arm. She had fallen asleep about twnety minutes outside of Yale and he had let her sleep till he parked the car in fornt of the apartment.

"Whaaa." Rory responded her voice thick with sleep. "Where are we?"

Logan laughed as he reached around her and unbuckled her seatbelt. "We just got back to the apartment. You fell asleep a little while ago." He held his hand out and helped the still drowsy brunette out of the car.

Once they were upstairs in the apartment and Rory and woken up a bit more. She laughed as she settled on the couch with her laptop. "Sorry I fell asleep. Again."

Logan laughed as he joined her with his own laptop and the stack of folders they had gotten at the offices earlier that day. "It's okay, you're growing a human being. I imagine that is kind of exhausting."


	28. Chapter 28

"So what does this mean?" Rory asked as she glanced down at the numerous papers that were spread out between her and Logan late the next day. She had spent the day writing for the gazette and Logan had spent the day on the phone with lawyers and various othe people. They were not sitting across from each other at the small dining room table in Logan's apartment.

"It means that I inherit the company." Logan said sternly. He had suspected that this is what his father would do, but he hadn't shared those thoughts with Rory. "I get all of it."

Rory leaned back in her chair and let the words sink in. "Whoa.", was all she could muster. "So you become a leader of industry.

Logan shook his head, maybe a little too ferouciously and looked at his girlfirend. "I don't want it. I don't want any of it. When Odette left and things crumbled, I finally saw my way out. My way to distance myself from the family name once and for all." He frowned as he rubbed his temples. "Of course Mitchum would do this. Always doing what he could to make sure I was miserable."

Rory leaned forward and studied Logan for a second. "Is there anything you can do, so you don't have to take it on?"

Logan sighed and shrugged. "I don't know yet. I sent copies to my lawyer, and he's going over them. I was on the phone most of today trying to figure out exactly what the logistics are." He looked at her. "This is the last thing I ever wanted. I don't want to follow in his footsteps."

Rory stood and walked around, once she was behind Logan she leaned down and wrapped her arms around his neck. Kissing his cheek she smiled softly. "I won't let you follow in your dad's footsteps." She paused. "We will figure this out." She sighed hopefully. I promise we will get through this."

Logan stood up and wrapped her arms around Rory, kissing the top of her head before resting his head on hers he smiled. "Thank you Ace." He stod there, with his head resting on hers for a few more minutes before he sighed. "What do you say we go out for dinner?" Since he had spent the last several hours dealing with contracts and his fathers will. He wanted a distraction. And he didnt want all the stress weighing down on Rory as well.

Rory smiled and nodded. "Sounds good to me. But can we go somewhere easy and just bring it back here. I have no desire to dress up."

Logan laughed at the comment and then nodded. "How about burgers?" He released her from the hug "There's a little place about two blocks away. They play really cheesey romantic movies, and have named all their burgers after actors and actresses. We can go and grab food and come back here."

"Sounds like somewhere I'd fit in. Why haven't you told me about this before." Rory excalimed as she gathered her purse and slipped her shoes on.

As they walked downstairs Logan got his car keys ready to unlock the car. Rory stopped him and shook her head. "Nah, let's walk. I'm actually feeling pretty good and its a nice evening."

Logan nodded in agreement, sliding the keys back into his pocket before wrapping his arm around Rory as they walked out of the apartment building and into the pleasent night.

"This place is amazing!" Rory exclaimed as she looked at the hundreds of movie posters plastered on the walls. There were two huge flat screen tvs at what she assumed was the front of the dining area. They were both playing Breakfast at Tiffany's. Rory was hoooked as soon as she saw Audrey Hepburn's face. She turned to Logan and very seriously said. "We're eating here."

Logan laughed and turned to the hostess. "I guess we will be eating here. A booth for two, perferably with a good view of the tv."

The hostess smiled grabbed two menu's and led the couple to a red glittery vinyl booth and got their drink orders before leaving them to peruse the menus.

Logan settled into the booth next to Rory and grinned. " I should of known that you would like this place this much."

Rory opened her menu, and studies the different burgers, sandwiches and salads named after celebrities. "Of course. We will have to bring my mom and Luke up here one day."

Logan nodded. "Maybe thatll turn Luke around and he'll start liking me again."

Rory sighed looking up at Logan and shook her head softly. "You've got it all wrong Logan, Luke likes you. He'll warm up to it eventually."

Logan nodded and opened his own menu.


	29. Chapter 29

The rest of the week passed mostly without a hitch. Logan wasn't any closer to finding out what he had to do to bid rid of the Huntzburger company and dynasty. But on his way home that evening he made a appointment to see his lawyer first thing Monday morning. He hoped that a face to face would accomplish more than the many phone calls and emails were.

He had promised Rory that they wouldn't have to talk about the company at all over the weekend, and that was a promise that he intended to keep. Rory had arranged for them to spend Saturday in Stars Hollow so they could get her car, and break the news that they were dating to Lorelai, Luke and Lane's brood. If he was being honest he was a little nervous about Luke. Try as he might, it still seemed like Luke had a grudge against the blonde. Even with Rory's reassurance that things would straighten out, he still had some worries.

"Briiiiiiiinnnnnng. Briiiiiiiiinggg." Came the cheesey and annoying ring of his cell phone, shaking him from his thoughts.

"Logan Huntzburger." he answered without even looking at the screen.

"Such a formal greeting. " came Rory's sweet voice, instantly putting Logan in a better mood.

"Sorry babe, I didnt look before I answered. I'm on the road. Do you need me to pick up anything on the way home?"

"No, but you should hurry. I'm cooking."

Logan laughed. "I must of heard you wrong. Did you say you were cookiing?"

Rory pretended to be offended as she answered. "I can cook."

Logan teased her. "I remember you telling me once that you could only cook things in a tube. Are you making us a feast of cinnamon rolls and pizza crusts?"

Rory laughed, remembering the birthday she had made breakfast for him in bed. "I've actually progressed a little bit past that. It's a surprise.

"I'll be there in about a half hour. Try not to burn anything."

"Yeah yeah." Rory said before hanging up.

"Oh lady of the house, have your burned my kitchen up yet?" Logan said as he entered the apartment with a large bouquet of roses in his hand.

"Nothing is burnt." Rory looked up and smirked. "Who'd you bring flowers for?"

Logan shrugged out of his coat and made his way across the room handing her the red flowers with a kiss on the cheek before answering. "The stunning brunette carrying my child and makiing what smells like chicken."

Rory laughed as she set the roses in the sink and nodded towards the oven. "Well you're kind of right. I made chicken enchiladass."

Logan opened the oven and looked at the cheesey bubbling dish that was cooking on the top rack. "Color me impressed Gilmore. What can I help with?"

Rory swatted him with the dishtowel she had in her hands. "Go change and dinner should be ready. It's your turn to pick a movie."

Logan dissapeared into the master bedroom. Coming back out a few mintues later he smiled. Rory had set the table, and lit the candles. He made his way over kissing her firmly and then hldiing her for a few moments. "This is great Ace. Perfect end to a stressful week." Logan pulled out her chair for her and then took the chair to the right of her. "It smells great Ace. Who knew that you could make mexican food."

Rory laughed. "This and radiator quesadillas is about all I can manage. And I only learned this because I was tag teaming child care with Paris and Doyle's kid's nanny." She smirked. "So don't get too used to my cooking, becuase my repotiore isn't that great."

Logan laughed as he cut off a small hunk of his enchilada to taste. He blew on it before sticking it in his mouth. After swallowing it he grinned. "By job, she can cook." He teased. "All kidding aside, It tastes great Ace. And it didnt even come out of a tube."

Logan insisted on letting Rory sit on the couch while he cleaned up the dinner dishes. There were suprisingly very little leftovers once the two had finished their meal. After hitting the start button on the dishwasher the blonde made his way into the living room and grinned. "Thank you again for a great dinner. Maybe next time I'll cook."

"You'll have to. Because that's the only real meal I know how to cook." Rory laughed as she scooted over to cuddle against Logan after he sat at one end of the couch.

"That's not true. You've made lobster and paella with me." Logan teased as he wrapped her up in his arms and turned the tv on. He scrolled through a list of movie options before landing on the latest Mission Impossible movie.

Rory sat and watched the movie in realtive silence with Logan for a few minutes before adjusting so she could look up at him. "Logan?"

Logan hit the pause button and looked down at Rory. "Yes Ace?"

"Do you think it would be okay if we..." She paused, she didnt know why asking this was feeling so awakward, she had shared a room with Logan thousands of times. Shaking her head she continued. "If we shared a room tonight?"

Logan laughed. "Of course we can share a room." He chuckled. "I was just waiting for you to be comfortable enough being here to ask."


	30. Chapter 30

"If you bring this much stuff now, I can't wait till we have a baby along with us too." Logan teased as they got into the car the next morning.

"Well, what can I say? Emily Gilmore taught me to always plan for every possible situation." Rory responded as she buckled her seatbelt and shot a smirk in Logan's direction.

"Well she would be proud. I don't think we are going to need the tent or rain jackets."

Rory rolled her eyes as Logan started the car. "You never know, better to be safe than sorry."

They traveled for a few minutes listening to the radio, before Logan broke the silence. "So I was thinking we could take your mom and Luke out to dinner tonight, and then we can tell them that we're dating."

Rory laughed. "Trying to butter them up, Huntzburger?"

Logan shrugged and then chuckled. "Figured they are less likely to murder me if they don't approve if we are in the open with witnesses around."

Rory sighed. "No one is going to kill you. When I set up the visit with my mom I mentioned that you wanted to make sure they were okay with you being around. She said she would talk to him."

Logan smiled. "Thanks Ace. I know you keep saying that there is nothing to worry about. But I get this nagging feeling like he's not saying something that he wants to." he paused and then added. "Speaking of not saying things that someone wants to, there's something I want to run by you."

Rory felt her heartbeat quicken at his words. There were a multitude of things he could be getting ready to say, and they ranged from good to bad. She mentally prepared herself for whatever was about to come out of the blonde's mouth as she felt sweat start to trickle. "O-okay."

Logan reached over and took her hand in his and shook his head. "Relax Ace, it's nothing bad. Or at least I hope you dont think it's bad."

Rory nodded, urging him to continue.

"It's just that we're dating now, and you haven't been home since we started dating. Which don't get me wrong, I have loved being able to come home to you. And since you're sleeping in my room now." He chuckled. "Unless that was just a one time thing last night. It would make more sense if we figured out if you were moving in or not."

Rory was surprised and relieved with what he had asked. She thought for a minute. When it was clear that there were still sparks in between her and Logan she had wanted to take things slow, but now that she was with Logan and actually "with" him she was finding that harder and harder to do. She looked at Logan and sighed. "I wanted to take things slow Logan." she started. "But I should have known that that isn't possible. I mean it's us. It's you and me. We're not the couple that takes things slow. We have never been the take it slow people. So I guess it makes sense to move in with you. Especially if we are really going to do this."

"Thats kind of how I was feeling, but I didn't want you to feel pressured to move in, if you didn't want to. I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to." Logan said squeezing her hand. "I'm not saying we have to stay in that apartment either. If you don't like it. We can look for something else. You know a fresh start. Hell, we are probably going to have to move. That apartment is paid for by the company. It was part of the whole merger with Odette's dad. I'm sure as soon as I say I want to have nothing to do with the company to the board, they are going to want me out of there before I can spell my last name."

Rory couldn't help but giggle before answering. "Well. I guess apartment shopping it is...unless..." She paused. "We could look in Stars Hollow. If you're leaving the company anyway..." She wasn't sure that Logan would ever agree to giving up his big city life to live in the sleepy little town that she had grown up in. She knew he loved to visit, but visiting and living in Stars Hollow were two very different things.

Logan looked at her. He had never really thought he would have another shot with Rory, even as much as he had hoped for it. So he had never really given much thought to living anywhere other than the city. He shrugged. "I've never really thought about that. We can look and see whats available. I don't know what my next career move is, but if Stars Hollow is where you want to be. Then I'll do my best to make it work."

Rory, once again touched by his sweetness and compassion smiled and laid a kiss on Logan's cheek. "Let's just take it one day at a time." She said with a smile as Logan steered the car to the exit for Stars Hollow.

"There they are!" Loreali said in a sing song voice as she flung the door open. Rory laughed and hugged her mom, Logan stood awkwardly for a second before giving Lorelai a quick hug. Lorelai laughed. "You can't be awkward anymore Huntzy, you're part of this crazy family now. If only by association." She teased as she stepped aside and let her daughter and Logan into the house.

"Luke's finishing up at the diner, and then he'll be over. What's son the agenda?" she asked as the trio made their way into the kitchen.

"Logan and I would like to take you to dinner in Hartford." Rory said as the all sat around the table.

"That must mean there's news." Lorelai said, raising an eyebrow at her daughter.

"It might, but you'll have to wait till tonight to find out." Rory replied, stone faced. She was trying not to let her mother guess what they were going to tell them that evening.

"What do we have to wait for tonight to find out?" Luke asked as he entered the kitchen.

"I don't know. Rory is being all secretive." Lorelai pouted as her husand leaned down and kissed him. "But they invited us to dinner in Hartford tonight."

Luke shrugged. "Do I have to wear a tie?"

"No. Just wear what you're comfortable in." Logan interjected.

"Okay then. I'm game." Luke responded, wondering what his step daughter and the father of his grandchild were up to.


	31. Chapter 31

"So this is how the other half live?" Luke muttered under his breath to Lorelai as they followed Logan and Luke into the fancy looking italian resturanut that Logan had secured reservactions at for the evening.

"Hush you." Lorelai said as she swatted him. "Just because not everyone is in flannel, doesn't make it a bad place." She teased.

Luke shot a look towards Lorelai and then rolled his eyes.

"Table for four, Huntzburger" A hostress dressed in clothes so freah and pressed you would think she just stayed in a box like a barbie when she wasn't leading guests to their tables, called.

The party of four followed in single file line after the hostess. Logan at the front, and Luke at the rear. Once they were seated and had their menus, Logan smiled at his three dinner companions. "It's on me, so order whatever you want."

"You don't have to do that." Luke said, but Logan shook his head.

"I want to. I invited you and Lorelai out, so it's only fair. Luke didn't respond verbally but nodded. He wasn't exactly known as someone who let other people pay his way, even for something as simple as dinner. He still had problems letting Lorelai pay for things sometimes, and they were married.

"The seafood alfredo is fantastic, although I can't have it." Rory said opening her menu. "No fish while pregnant, Paris' orders. And I don't wanna cross her."

"She probably has some sort of urine test that would be able to tell what seafood you ate, where you ate it at, and how much of it you are." Logan said with a snort of laughter. The waitress came by and introduced himself, and got their drink orders. Wine for Lorelai, beer for Luke and water for both Rory and Logan. Rory had explained on the drive to Stars Hollow earlier that day the he didn't have to stop drinking just because she couldnt drink because she was pregnant. Logan had explained that it wasnt fair for him to drink when she couldn't and it would probably do him some good to cut back for a few months.

"Scary thought, but from what I have seen of Paris. It seems logical." Luke siad as he looked up from his menu.

"It all looks so good." Lorelai said as she scanned page after page of the seemingly endless menu a few minutes later. "What is everyone else getting?"

"I always get the mushroom risotto." Logan said as he shut his menu and slid it onto the table, taking a breadstick out of the basket from the middle and buttering it.

"Since seafood is a no. I'm getting the tuscan soup and garlic bread. Then probably cheesecake."

"A girl after my own heart." Lorelai teased as she turned her attention to her husband. "What about you stud?"

Luke blushed ever so slightly as his eyes met his wifes. His face said anger, but his eyes spoke a joy much louder than any words ever could. " I told you not to call me that in public."

"Oh sorry. What are you getting Lucas" She laughed sticking her tongue out.

"You're not allowed..." He shut his menu and shrugged. "Oh it's not even worth fighting. I'm getting eggplant parmesean."

Lorelai contorted her face into an expression that made it look like the decision she was about to have to make was the hardest one of her life. "I think I'll get the chicken alfredo."

The waitress returned a few moments later and gave delivered the table's drink orders before taking their dinner orders. After she had left again Logan reached over and took Rory's hand leaning forward just slightly. He figured he might as well get on with why they had wanted to have a dinner out, maybe it would make the night go better if he got it out of the way first thing.

"I guess now is as good a time as ever to talk to you both about what I wanted to talk to you about." the blonde said after clearing his throat.

"I'm listening." Lorelai said with a smile.

Luke took a sip of his beer and nodded.

"Rory and I have decided to try to be a couple again. We aren't going to rush into marriage or anything. It's been years since we we're a real couple. But that'e neither here nor there." Logan added when he saw the confused look pass over Luke's face. "The point is. It was very important to me to get it out in the open and tell both of you, so you didn't feel like we were trying to hide anything from you." after finishing his little speech Logan turned to Rory to see if she had anything to add.

Rory smiled and looked from Logan to her mother and step father. "With the baby coming, we know it's kind of an odd time for us to get to know each other again. But we talked about it, and we think this is what's right for us right now."

"I knew it!" Lorelai exclaimed clapping her hands together. "Didn't I say I knew this was going to happen."

Luke set his beer down and gave a half nod. "You did." he turned his attention to the blonde male across the table from him and nervously rubbed at the back of his neck. "While we are getting things out in the open, there's something I need to say as well."

Something sank in the pit of Rory's stomach, she was worried that her step father wasn't going to approve and say something that would get Luke angry, nontheless she listened.

"Lorelai and I talked on the way over here, and I realized I hadn't been exactly warm to you Logan." he chuckled. "While I'm not exactly the warmest of guys to anyone. You didn't deserve the coldness I was giving you." he sighed."I'm sure you know that I treat Rory like my own daughter, and like any father in this situation. I was worried about her when she said she was going to tell you about the baby." He sighed. "But I have been in the other seat. The dad that didn't find out till his kid was twleve, and that was not something I would wish on anyonre. I guess I was just conflicted. I didn't want Rory to get hurt and I didn't want you to do something stupid and make a mistake and not be a part of the child's life." he finished before taking a long drink out of his beer.

"What Mr. War and Peace over here is trying to say Logan is Welcome to the family and also that he's sorry." Lorelai interjected.


	32. Chapter 32

A few days had passed, and Tuesday was upon them. Rory smiled with one hand resting on her stomach and the other one holding Logan's. They were on the way to Paris' office to find out the sex of their baby. Lorelai had called several times that morning with name suggestions for both girls and boys, causing Rory to silence her phone.

Logan glanced over at Rory and grinned. "You ready to find out what you're having?"

Rory nodded and looked at Logan before correcting him. "I am ready for us to find out what we're having."

Logan laughed shaking his head slightly before he stopped at a red light. "I can only imagine the things Paris is going to say to me."

Rory laughed along. "I told her to play nice. But Paris' version of nice, and everyone else's are quite different."

The two rode the next several blocks in comfortable silence. Rory was excited to find out the sex of the baby, as if knowing if the little human growing inside of her was a boy or girl would make it more real. Logan was nervous, he was trying to act cool on the outside for Rory. Of course he was excited as well, but he was nervous. He had never really seen himself as someone who could be a father, but ever since Rory had told him he was going to be one he had become pretty nervous.

Several minutes later when he pulled the SUV into the parking lot of the massive doctors office complex with Paris Geller's name in bold letters that Logan swore could probably be seen from space. After parking close to the door Logan whistled. "Well clearly she's done well for herself."

Rory laughed and shook her head as she unbuckled her seatbelt. "Just wait till you get inside, her face is everywhere. It's kind of like the golden H at your dad's offices."

Logan chuckled as he got out fo the car and shut the door before striding over to Rory's side and opening the door to help her out. Once the car was locked, they walked hand in hand to the front doors, which opened automatically for them. Logan opened his mouth to say something and was interrupted with a dirty blonde hurricane in a gray suit and heels that was rushing at them.

"Logan, Rory!" came the so familair voice of Paris Gellar. A voice that if he had to be honest, Logan had kind of hoped he never heard again. But as long as she didnt start yelling he figured he could get through the doctors appointment without going crazy. He had to admit that he was suprised when the blonde hugged him. He barely had time to ponder it when they were ordered to follow her into an office.

"Are we ready to find out what the little Huntzburger is?" Paris asked after securly shutting the office door.

"I've been ready. And if we dont find out today, my mother is likely to blow my phone up if I don't find out soon." Rory said as her and Logan took their seats across from where Paris had sat behind a desk.

"And what about you Rockafeller?" Paris asked, staring Logan down.

Logan clenched his jaw just slightly. He had hoped she had forgetten that nickname. Taking a deep breath the blonde responded. "Of course I am excited to find out."

Paris nodded and then stood, signalling for the other two in the room to do the same. "I will take you to the exam room. Then go pull Rory's charts and then I will perform the ultrasound myself."

Logan resisted the urge to say something smart aleck back to her, and simply followed close behind Rory, his hand on the small of her back as they followed Paris to a room a few hallways away. Paris stood at the open door and waved them in. "The gowns on the bed. Ill be right back." 'With that and a clicking of heels Paris was off.

Logan stepped into the room, after Rory and shut the door. "Well, clearly she's the same old Paris." he chuckled before holding up the thin hospital gown that Paris had referred to just a moment before. "Well if I knew I was going to get to see you in something this sexy, I would of come prepared." He teased handing it over.

Rory shook her head as she pulled her clothes off and folded them on the chair before pulling the faded blue gown on. She did a little twirl and laughed before sitting on the edge of the bed and looked at him. "This thing is cold. Even if it does make me look like a model." She joked.

After a few more minutes of banter the door opened and Paris donning a white coat and carrying a clipboard and a file folder came into the room. "Alright lets get this done. Rory lay down. Remember this stuff is cold." Paris was all business at this point. She opened a cabinet and pulled out a squeeze bottle and set it on the counter as she put gloves on. Squirting some into her hand she walked over to the side of the table and spread it on her stomach. After peeling the gloves off and tossing them into the trash she booted up the ultrasound machine. Taking a seat in the rolling stool she nodded towars Logan to join the party at the other side of the table. Instictively he took Rory's hand and rubbed small circles on it with his thumb.

After some beeps and PAris moving the scanner around on her friends stomach she smiled. Looking to Rory and Logan's expectant faces she laughed. "Well, looks like it's time to break the circle, a Gilmore Guy is on the way."

Rory smiled. She hadn't of really cared either way. Lane had two boys, Paris had one, she had been around baby boys. As long as the baby was healthy she didn't really care either way. She looked up at Logan who's face was broken into a smile. His eyes met hers and he leaned down and kissed her. "A boy!"

"Everything looks good so far." Paris smiled before removing the ultrasound scanner from Rory's stomach and wiping it and her stomach off as best as she could. "Do either of you have any questions for me?"

Rory shook her head and looked up at her boyfriend. "Nope, Im good." he replied.

Paris stood and pushed the ultrasound cart back to the corner where it had been when they entered the room and smiled. "Two weeks from now, I want to see you back here. Sorry I'm in a rush, todays a busy day. But I'll text and we can all do dinner." Paris gave Rory a side hug and looked up to Logan. "Then I can bust your balls and not worry about wanting to look professional.


	33. Chapter 33

"Well, what did your mom say?" Logan asked as he entered the living room. They had gotten back to the apartment an hour or so earlier and he had given her the space to call her mom and share that they were having a boy.

"She was bummed there would be no tutus and ballet lessons in the future. But she was happy. She figured Luke would be happy about having someone else to buy flannel for." Rory said with a smile looking up from her phone.

"A Huntzburger in flannel. There's something Mitchum would have a cow about." Logan said as he sunk down to the couch beside her and pulled her feet into his lap.

"I have a feeling there is a lot going on right now that would have Mitchum plopping out cows." Rory said with a smile as she focused her gaze on Logan.

Logan laughed as he rubbed Rory's feet and continued to talk to her. "So, Paris mentioning dinner, is that good or bad?"

Rory thought for a minute before responding. "Good, I think."

"Is she with Doyle still?"

Rory shrugged. "That is undecided. They dropped the divorce preceedings last time I asked her about it. But i don't think she had let him move back in. So...maybe?"

Logan thought for a minute before nodding. "Well...I guess we could do dinner with them, if you want to."

Rory shrugged. "I'll let her initiate that. Dinner with Doyle and Paris and the kids is...well its an adventure. Not sure i want to put you through all that."

Logan laughed. "Speakng of dinner, are you getting hungry yet?" He glanced at his watch. "It's nearly seven."

Rory shrugged. "I'm always hungry Logan." It had pretty much always been true of the brunette, but now that she was pregnant, it was extra true. "Can we just order in though? I'm kind of tired."

Logan reached into his pocket and produced his phone nad nodded. "Of course it is. What sounds good?"

Rory thought for a few seconds before smiling. "I always pick the food, why dont you pick?"

Logan tapped at his phone a few times before pulling up a menu. "Cheeseburgers sound good to me."

"I want a gouda bacon cheeseburger with a fried egg and avocado. Chilli cheese fries, and onion rings."

"Yes dear." Logan said as he tapped in her choices on the burger delivery website. After a few more taps he set his phone down and looked up at Rory. "Be here in thirty."

Rory smiled. "Such a good provider." She paused to chuckle at her own joke before asking what he ordered for himself.

"A bacon cheeseburger and tator tots." He shrugged. "Nothing exciting.

"Hey Logan." Rory said quietly after a minute.

"Yes Ace?" Logan said intently.

"Are you going to tell your mom...?"

Logan thought for a second, gazing at Rory. "I dont know. I know she probably knows by now. But I don't know if I want to share anything else with her. I don't really want her around the baby. Honor and Josh and their kids are fine. They are mostly normal. But not Shira."

"I get that. I'm sorry I asked. But I wanted to know."

Logan leaned over and patted her leg. "I don't want you to say sorry. I know why you asked. You deserve to ask. Even though she's the babys grandmother. I just don't want them subjected to what I was when I was little."

"I know. And that's a really good thing to feel. I mean you and Honor ended up mostly okay. But you were a mess when I met you." Rory said, laughing softly

Logan nodded in agreement. "I'm always a mess when you're not around."

Rory blushed and stared at Logan for a little longer than usual before shooting him a smile and then shaking her head. "Well, enough talk about the Huntzburger clan. Do you have to back to the office tomorrow?"

"The lawyers are suspposed to call me in the afternoon. So I guess it kind of depends on that. They hadn't gotten far enough yesterday for us to make any headway." He sighed, the frustration present in his furrowed brown and sigh. "Why do you ask?"

Rory shrugged. "Just wondering, how long I have to live wihtout you tomorrow" She said playfully sticking her tongue out.

Logan laughed. "Well I will try not to be gone for too long."

Rory smiled. "Much appreciated." She opened her mouth to add something else. But was interrupted by Logan's phone ringing. The blonde glanced at the screen to see who it was. Sighing heavily he flipped the phone over so he didn't see it.

"I take it it is someone that you dont want to talk to." Rory said with a snort.

"Shira." Logan said plainly. That's all he had to say. Rory didn't need anything else in the way of an answer. She frowned. "Turn your ringer off. Ill turn mine off. We will just watch movies and eat when the food gets here. I don't want the magic from finding out we are having a boy to get ruined because she keeps calling."

Logan smiled weakly. She was right of course, like she usually was. He flipped his phone over and shut it off tossing it on the coffee table. Rory did the same thing before handing Logan the remote.

"Whatever you want to watch." Logan said handing it back.

"Then Breakfast at Tiffany's it is." Rory said as she scrolled through the Netflix movie list until she found the movie and selected it.

A few hours later a very sleepy and full Rory followed Logan back to his bedroom. "I guess you should move your stuff in here tomorrow, since we have established that you are staying here and sleeping in here."

Rory smiled and laughed as she fumbled with her pants and pushed them to the floor. She sank into the side of the bed she had claimed as hers and waited for him to join her. "We should look at some new places soon too. Especially if the lawyers get moving on stuff, and you figure out what's going to happen. I want to move before I get too much fatter." Rory said with a laugh.

Logan slid into bed next to her and laughed. "You aren't even fat now." He said kissing her softly before switching the light off next to him. "But yeah, Ill try to be quick tomorrow afternoon, and maybe we can look some places up. Just decide how big of a place you want to look at"

"Well, you get a say in the matter too. I want you to be happy wherever we end up."

"As long as you are there, I dont see how I could be unhapy." Logan said softly as he pulled her into his arms and they sleepily shared a few more words before falling asleep.


	34. Chapter 34

"Ouuuuuuuch, ow ow ow ow" Rorys yelps in pain woke Logan up. Instantly he sat up and looked over and the brunette who was holding her stomach.

He brushed the hair out of her eyes and looked at her. "What's wrong?"

"It hurts. Every few minutes it hurts." Rory said painfully. Logan jumped out of bed and in a matter of seconds had slipped his shoes and jacket on before whooshing around the bed and supporting Rory as he helped her up.

As he led her to the door, worry wrinkled his brow. He couldn't remember a time that Rory had actually been in pain, and now it wasn't just her. This was affecting the baby as well. He helped her into a pair of slip on shoes, threw a jacket around her not bothering to check if it was his or hers, and helped her down to the car.

He drove, probably a little too fast through the mostly sleeping streets before pulling up in front of the emergency entrance to the hospital. He ran inside and seconds later was acompanied back outside by a nurse and a wheelchair as he stood by feeling helpless watching the nurse help Rory into the wheelchair. As the nurse wheeled her into the emergecy room she cast a sideways glance at Logan. "Are you the father?"

"I am." He said. The nurse nodded towards the nurses station as she whisked Rory by. "Sandy there will get you some forms to fill out, while I get her in a room and we get started looking at her and the baby."

Logan nodded as he felt tears well up behind his eyes as he squeaked out. "Take care of them."

The nurse gave a brief nod as she kept going with Rory.

Logan turned his attention to the task at hand and talked to the nurse for a couple of minutes before getting the clipboard wiht and sitting in one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs. He sighed as he clicked the pen so he could use it. He had spent entirely too much in hospitals recently. Although he was glad to be there for Rory even though he wasn't glad they were currently in the hospital, and seperated at that.

What seemed like an eternity later Logan finished up the paperwork and took the clipboard back to the desk. After handing it over, he asked the nurse who he had learned earlier was named Sandy. "When will I get to see her?"

The nurse showed a compassionate side, offered him a smile and answered as best as she could. "As soon as they've got her hooked up to machines, pinpointed what is wrong. The doctor will be out to see you."

"Thank you." Logan said weakly before returning to his seat. He was stressed, and in a hospital. The last time he had been in this situation, Rory had been the one he had called. And now Rory was the one he was worried about, and he didn't know who to call. Up until then he had kept the fact that he and Rory were back together fairly private, but he was about to change that. It was time he call the Life and Death boys. Even though they all got a lot of crap, even now about not being mature enough, when he needed them they were usually good about showing up no questions asked. And he knew they would be happy they were together, and they always loved a good excuse to see Rory.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket he scrolled through his recent calls list until he landed on Colin's number. It was too late at night to call Finn, he knew his exotic buddy would be too far gone to make sense of the phone call. Hitting send on Colin's number he brouoght the phone to his ear and waited as it rang. As per the usual for Coolin, he answered just after the second ring.

"Huntzburger, what's up?"

"Colin, I don't want to explain it over the phone, but can you come to the hospital. Rory's been admitted."

Colin sputtered for a second before realizing the questions could be answered in person, and later. "Of course man."

After giving Colin the information of what hospital they were at, they hung up.

Less than a half hour later Colin walked through the doors and up to Logan, who had stood up as soon as he saw his friend.

"So what happened?"

Logan sighed. "Rory's pregnant. It's mine. We're back together. She woke up a little while ago with cramping and a lot of pain. So I brought her here immediately. They took her back as soon as we got here, and I haven't seen her yet." He said quickly catching his friend up.

Colin stood, with a stunned look on his face for several long seconds before responding. "Wow." After regaining a little composure he looked his friend of many years in the eyes and put a hand on his shoulder. "Logan, its Rory. She's got this. The doctors are going to take care of her." He could tell by the expression on the blonde's face that he was deeply worried about his girlfriend and Colin would do everything that was in his power to make sure his friend stayed as upbeat as possible. He nodded towards the sign that said "vending" and then looked back at Logan. "I'll go get some coffee. I'll be right back."

Logan nodded as he noticed a older gray haired man in scrubs and a long white coat coming towards him. When he came within a few feet he looked at Logan, and smiled a weathered tired smile. 'You must be Mr Huntzburger?" Logan nodded and the doctor introduced himself. "I'm Doctor Smith, and I want you to know that we've got her hooked up to some machines that are monitoring Ms Gilmore's condition, shes been given some medication and weve targetd that she had started to go into pre term labor. " He flipped through the chart in his hand. "We are going to do everything we can to stop it, while the baby could survive being born this early, it would come into the world with a whole lot of complications, so we want to try to avoid that."

Logan nodded, listening to every word that came out of the gray haired man's mouth. "When can I see her?"

The doctor smled, "Lets limit it to a few minutes, but if you want I can take you back now."


	35. Chapter 35

Logan eagerly followed the doctor down a hallway and to the room where they had wheeled Rory into what seemed like eons ago. When the doctor pushed the door open and stepped aside so that Logan could enter, he wasn't fully prepared for what he saw. Rory was hooked up to several machines and you could tell she was completely out of it. She was awake, but groggy. Logan walked swiftly to the side of the bed and took her hand in his. He kissed the back of it softly before lookiing into her eyes.

"How're you feeliing?"

Rory mustered the best smile that she could and answered. "I've been better. But the doct...he's going to make sure...baby doesnt come early." Her words were slurred, a side effect from the pain mediication that they had given her, according to the doctor.

Logan smiled, as he took a breath before responding he saw that she had fallen asleep. He turned his attention back to the doctor and raised an eyebrow. "Is that normal?"

The doctor nodded. "Yeah. once we get everythinig under control and she's not in pain anymore we will wean it down so she can be awake and with it more. But she was in an awful lot of pain when you brought her in. The baby's stats are a little low, and so are hers. So we want to keep her here for at least a couple of days and monitor them both."

Logan nodded and extended his hand to shake the doctors own hand. "Thank you so much. I have a friend out in the waiting room, but thank you for explaininig everything."

The doctor shook his hand and smiled. "If there's anythinig else we can do to help. Let me know. And I will come get you if anythinig changes."

Logan gave one more nod and then left the room to go back and find Colin.

Colin stood when he saw Logan approaching. "How is she man?" He asked as he handed over the wimpy foam cup of dark liquid which was barely passable as coffee.

Logan took a sip and made a face before responding." She's asleep now. They are going to keep her for a couple of days. She was going into pre term labor and they have to stop it and they want to monitor her and the baby."

Colin nodded and then tilted his head. "I hope you're not mad. I called Fiinn while you were back there with Rory. He was actually just a few miles away at the hotel helping his parents with some big banquet. He's wrapping something up and then will be on his way. I didn't tell him that she was pregnant just that she was here. Robert is in California, but he will come out tomorrow after his buisiness meeting."

Logan smiled, his boys as Rory had always called them were always there when he needed them. They might of been royal screw ups when they were in college and for a few years after. But they had always been there for the blonde, no matter what. "Thanks Col."

The two, not wanting to stay in the stuffy waiting room headed towards the cafeteria after Logan left his cell phone number with the nurses station in case they needed to get ahold of him for an reason.

"So, you're going to be a dad." Colin said as they strolled down a hallway a few seconds later.

"Yeah." Logan responded as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I don't want you to take this the wrong way. But I never thought you would be the first one of us to have a kid."

Logan laughed and shook his head before responding. "I get it. Although I'm surprised that Robert and Stephanie haven't popped any out."

Coliiin laughed. "Oh you know they will now. Robert has always been super competitive."

The two continued to joke and talk about the baby and Rory as they made theiir way to the cafetera and ordered a not so fantastic breakfast that consisted of sad eggs, a sliice of bacon and the most depressing pancakes Logan had ever seen.


	36. Chapter 36

When the duo returned to the waiting room on the floor of Rory's room they were met by the familiar Australian accent of the most flamboyant member of the Life and Death Brigade. Finn, completely sober stood leaned up next to the nurses station, chatting or more than likely flirting with the blonde nurse that sat behind it typing on the keyboard. While Finn had mellowed out a lot since the group had left Yale, but he was still very much Finn. The dark haired Aussie looked up and cracked a smile at his friends, he said something to the blonde nurse which got a smile before pushing off from the counter and sauntering over to Logan and Colin.

"Hey mate, what's going on?"

Logan took a deep breath before opening his mouth to respond to the question poised at him by Finn. "Rory and I got back together." As he took a breath before continuing Finn interrupted him.

"And the shock from it gave her a heart attack?" Finn asked, as always he was trying to provide comedic relief.

" 's pregnant. She went into what the doctor said was pre term labor." He sighed, saying it out loud again made it so much more real. He hated that there was nothing he could do but wait and see if the doctors were able to succesfully stop it and keep it from happening again. "They want to keep her for a couple of days." Logan explained. As he finished speaking he noticed the falling in Finn's face. Sure he had been the most immature and weirdest of their group but much like the other members of the Life and Death Brigade, he had always cared for Rory, and it shocked him more that the strong brunette was having complications than that she was pregnant.

"Mate. I'm here. Whatever you or her need. I knew you and her weren't done. I didn't think this would be the next step in young Master Huntzburger's life, but still congratulations."

Logan mustered a smile and nodded at his friend. "Thanks. Right now, we're just waiting."

"Robert will be here tomorrow." Colin added, trying to be helpul but not having a whole lot to help with.

"We should do something for her. Roses? Chocolate? Giant stuffed animals?" Finn said as the trio made their way to a cluster of chairs near halfway in between the nurses station and the hospital room where Rory was still asleep.

Logan thought about it for a long minute before responding. "I like where you're heading with this, but it's Rory. We have to do something grand. She deserves it."

Colin snorted with laughter. "The last time we did something grand, she got pregnant. So we need to be careful how grand we get. Especially if she's still in her current state."

Logan nodded and looked to Finn and then to Colin. "We'll think of something. For now I need to call Paris and tell her. As much as I don't want to deal with her, she will make sure that Rory get's the care she needs and she would kill me if I didn't call her."

Colin rolled her eyes. "But she's the scary one."

With a small chuckle Logan excused himself from the other two men and wandered off to a quiet corner of the hospital waiting room and scrolled through his phone number until he landed on Paris cell phone number. Hitting send he brought the phone to his ear and listened to the monotone ring as he waited for her to pick up. After the fourth ring a way too perky for this hour of the morning Paris answered the phone.

"Geller, how can I help you?"

"Paris, it's Logan. We're at the hospital. Rory went into pre-term labor. She's sleeping now. But I thought you would like to know."

"Give me the doctors name. I had to go with Doyle for a family emergency, but I want to talk to the doctor she has there, and make sure that they give her what she needs and has the best care." Paris said sternly.

Logan spent the next several minutes telling her everything that he knew, as well as what room Rory was in, and all the information he had on the doctor.

Before hanging up Paris cleared her throat, and her voice softened just a little bit. "She's going to be okay Logan. She's Rory."

Logan hung up, slipped his phone back into his pocket and walked passed his friends to the nurses station. Talking to the nurse, he was told he could go back into Rory's room, and then if the rest of the group wanted to go in one by one they could and that Rory was awake again, but it would be best to not overexcite her. Logan thanked the nurse before walking over to his small group, he said he was going in to see her, and then one of the others could. 


	37. Chapter 37

After a few minutes Logan emerged from Rory's room. She had woken up and was a little more with it than she had been the last time he had seen her. She still wasn't herself, but at least she had carried on a conversation with him. He smiled when he saw Finn and Colin standing outside the door waiting for whatever the blonde was about to tell them.

"She's awake. And she said she'd like to see you." He paused, zeroing in on Finn. "And she wants to see you first. Don't ask me why."

Colin smirked. "It's the drugs they have her are messing with her logic."

Finn shot daggers at Colin with his eyes before slipping into the room to see Rory.

Thirty minutes later, all three of them had seen Rory. The doctor had talked to Logan for a few more minutes and had explained that they were going to move her to a nicer, more private room a few floors up at the request of a Ms Paris Geller.

"I need to call Lorelai." Logan said softy as he ran his hand through his messier than usual hair before telling the other two guys that he would meet them downstairs in a few minutes to figure out lunch and excused himself to make the phone call to his girlfriends mother.

"Dragonfly Inn, Lorelai speaking." came the sweet but professional voice of Rory's mother after two rings.

"Lorelai,it's Logan. I need to talk to you."

"What happened? Where's Rory? What's wrong?"

Logan took a deep breath before explaining the events of the morning. Lorelai remained mostly calm, but the panic was edging into her voice. Logan told her where they were, and the elder Gilmore girl said she would get Luke and they would be on the way, before hanging up she thanked him and told him to hang in there.

After hanging up Logan went in and checked on Rory one more time, she asked for a couple things from the apartment, which Logan said he would pick up. They talked for a few more minutes before the brunette got a little drowsy and stopped making sense. Logan kissed her once each on the cheek and mouth before leaving to meet Colin and Finn downstairs.

_  
"So, how's this going to work? Logan, are you going to marry her?" Colin asked as they sat around a table at a small deli a few minutes away from the hospital. The blonde wasn't exactly hungry, but he knew he needed to eat. He was running on not much sleep, and without keeping food in his system he was pretty sure he would crash.

"I don't know. We haven't even gotten close to that. But I wouldn't be against it." He responded thoughtfully after several seconds.

"I never thought that you would come anywhere close to saying somehting like that." Colin said after popping a french fry into his mouth.

"Same mate Same." Finn added.

The trio talked about Robert, and a little more about Rory before they finished their meal and headed toward's Logan and now Rory's apartment. As they gathered up the things that the brunette had requested Logan once again was thankful for the silly society he had joined in college because it was in his blood. Although the Life and Death Briagade had more or less become a part of the boys pasts, they still met up and had "meetings" once or twice a month. The friendships that the group had brought to the Huntzburger heir had saved him time and time again over the years. When things settled down with Rory and she was home, Logan wanted to talk to them about the stuff that had been going on since his father had passed away. Colin and Finn, Robert too had been as compassionate about Mitchum's death as they could muster and Logan appreicated it.

"Okay boys, I think that's everything."Logan said with a smile as he grabbed the photo album and the other odds and ends that Rory had requested.

Colin and Finn filed in behind Logan as they headed out of the apartment, and together they made their way back down to the SUV. After loading the stuff, they made a stop at a Florist where Colin bought Rory flowers and Finn picked out a teddy bear. Logan laughed shaking his head when he saw their purchases. Neither of them could ever deny that they were softies at heart.

When they returned to the hospital, all three were able to go in and see Rory at once. She was in a much nicer room, and looked far more comfortable then she had been in the other bed. She was still hooked up to several machines that were meant to monitor her,but she was sitting up and talking. She of course loved all the gifts, and was beside herself that both Colin and Finn had rushed right over. 


	38. the next chapter

"Do you need anything else from the apartment?" Logan asked, once Colin and Finn had left. Rory shook her head and smiled. "You're here, that's all that matters." They were lost in a conversation of small chit chat when a somber and perplexed looking Lorelai rushed into the room, followed by not only Luke, but Sookie and Jackson as well.

"Mom!?" Rory wasa mixture of emotions as the people who raised her filed into the room. It was no lie that pregnant women expericned more emotions than your everyday non pregnant women, but the surge of them that hit her when five of the most important people in her life surrounded her was more powerful than she thought it would be.

"Of course loinfruit. As soon as Logan called, Luke and I headed over. When Logan called Taylor, Kirk and Michele were there, and they all wanted to come but I figured that Sookie and Jackson were more harmless."

Rory smiled at her mom, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked from her mother to her step father to the woman and man she considered an aunt and unlce. "Thank you." was all she could get out.

Logan found Rory's hand with his own and squeezed it. He had hoped he had done the right thing by calling her mother. He should of figured that other people from Stars Hollow would show up. They took care of their own, especially when it came to Rory. Sookie and Jackson were no longer technically Stars Hollow residents, but it didn't really surprise her that they had showed up. She had been there when their third child was born, and through countless other events in their lives.

"Hey kiddo, how you feelin'?" Sookie asked as she made her way closer to the bed. Luke had adopted a stance near the tv and was looking about at home in the hospital room as a chicken did at a KFC, but she appreciated that he was there nontheless. She had learned during her teen years that there were few things that could make the plaid clad diner owner sqirm as much as a hospital. Jackson looked almost as awkward, but then again Jackson looked awkward no matter where you put him unless it was on a farm.

"Like cultivating new life is hard work." She said with a soft chuckle. While she was beyond worried about her current predictiment, she didn't want to show how worried she really was. Especially with the amount of people that now occupied her hospital room.

"You can say that again." Lorelai responded with a smirk as she perched herself onthe side of Rory's hospital bed opposite of where Logan was seate holding her hand. "You were a handful before you were even born."

"Pfft. " Sookie said with a grin. "Try doing it three times." She sighed. "Let me tell you, it doesn't get much easier."

The group shared several minutes of conversation before Jackson and Sookie left to relieve the sitter they had hired at a moments notice to watch their three children. Once they had left, a much more serious look fell on Lorelai's face as she looked at her daughter. "So, how long are you in this joint for?"

"I don't know yet. They are monitoring me for a couple days, make sure the baby and I are okay." Rory said, a more honest and sad look falling over her face.

"Hey hey now, loinfruit. It's going to be okay. That baby of yours is going to be the most love and spoiled baby ever in the history of the world" Lorelai said patting her daughters hand that wasn't being held by the blonde Huntzburger. She smirked. 


	39. Chapter 39

"Ace...Ace..." Rory awoke to the gentle nudging that accompanied Logan's voice. It took her several seconds to remember she was still in a drab hospital room, hooked up to a bunch of machines in a stark white and metal bed. She sighed and turned her head so she was facing him.

"Logan?" She said, her voice heavy with medicated sleep.

"Yeah, it's me." A frown was plastered on his face, and deep creases lined his forehead, causing Rory to wonder what was wrong, other than the obvious. He must of sensed her concern because he reached over and lightly brushed the hair out of her eyes. "You must of been having a bad dream or something. You were wimpering and screaming when I came in from calling your mom to let her know how you were doing. I got worried."

Rory smiled, half sleepily and half because of how cute it was that Logan was so concerend. "I'm okay." She rubbed her eyes and tried to reassure him. "I don't even remember any dreams I had."

Logan raised an eyebrow and looked at the brunette and then nodded. "Okay, I still got worried." He relaxed just a little. "I talked to the Doctors while you were asleep. They are going to keep you for at least two more days and by then we should have a plan in place to make sure you and the baby stay healthy."

While Rory wasn't exactly excited to hear that she was stuck in the hospital for an extended amount of time, she knew it was what was best for the baby and she had decided that she would do whatever it took to make sure her and Logan's child was healthy. She nodded and tried to sit up more in her bed, and when she got frustrating at not being able to do so in the way she was accostomed to, she groped for the remote and hit the button on it until she was in an upright position. Frowning she looked back to Logan who laughed.

"Sorry, you're just so adorable when you are frustrated." the blonde said with a slight smirk.

Rory blushed slightly and shook her head. "Trying to flirt with a girl while shes laid up in a bed fostering new life for you." She teased.

"Well, that's how I get all my girls."

Rory laughed heartily for the first time since Logan had brought her in to the hospital a couple of days earlier. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Well heelllllooo there sweetcheeks." Came the unmistakeable voice belonging to Finn from the hallway. Logan and Rory locked eyes and shared a laugh before turning their attention to the door to see what was about to go down. A frowning Finn walked into the room mere seconds later.

"Got shot down by a nurse didn't you?" Rory asked, a smirk playing on her lips. Logan could tell she was feeling better than she had since she had been admitted, but it was also evident that she wasn't feeling a hundred percent yet.

"How'd you know kitten?" Finn asked striding over to the bed and handing a bouquet of roses to Rory with a flourish. "Thought some color might brighten up the place." he added as he looked around the room with a frown of disgust, as much for the state of his friends current digs as the nurse saying no to a date with him.

"Because we heard the exchange. You're kind of loud." Logan responded.

Unable to resist himself Finn responded with "That's what she said."

The trio shared several minutes of laughs, where Logan agreed to go home and shower later that night and Finn would come hang out with Rory while he did so. Rory said they didn't need to making such a big fuss about her, and that she could probably handle being alone in the hospital room by herself for a couple hours. However, both men shot her down and said that when Logan left Finn would come hang out. By the time Finn left around an hour later, Rory was feeling touched by all the fuss that was being made about her, even if she didn't think it should be happening.


	40. Chapter 40

"Are you sure you are going to be okay?" Logan asked, a line of worry plainly evident on his face as he sat on the edge of their bed at home. Rory had been home for almost two days, and on strict orders from her doctor at the hospital and Paris she was to stay in bed, or at home and keep her physically straining activity to a mininum. Logan had stayed with her for as long as he could, but unfortunately with his dad dying and the future of the company hanging in limbo still he had to get back to the office and take care of things.

Rory sat up, her hand going to her stomach as it did most of the time that she moved around and looked at Logan. "I'll be fine, I promise." She offered up a reassuring smile before continuing. "Plus Lane is coming over and bringing lunch. So I won't be alone all day."

Logan bit his lip as he thought about it. He hated that he had to leave, but slowly he pushed himself off the bed. He leaned down and kissed Rory softly before pulling back. "I'll have my phone, call if you need anything."

Rory nodded, giving him another smile before watching him exit the bedroom they shared. She heard him pick up his stuff from the couch and then leave the house a few short moments later. She waited for a few seconds, and then pulled her phone off of the bedside table. After clicking the tv and flipping through the channels until she landed on some morning talk show, she returned her attention to her cell phone and scrolled through her contacts until she landed on her mother's number. Hitting the new message button she quickly typed out. "Hey mom. Logan went back to work this morning. If you want to come hang out sometime this week, I will let you paint my toenails and sing silly songs to my belly." After sending the message she tossed her phone onto the bed beside her and tried to focus on the group of middle aged women surronding a table arguing about who wore a dress best.

After several minutes she gave up on trying to pretend like she cared what they were talking about she sighed heavily and sat up in bed. Bed rest meant she had to take it easy, it didn't mean that she had to do absoloutely nothing. She would go crazy, if that were the case. Pushing herself out of bed, she slipped on a pair of slippers, slipped her phone into her hoodie pocket and with one hand on her belly she padded into the living room. It was weird to be home alone with Logan, it was even weirder to be calling it her house. To think that just a few days ago she was getting ready to face single parenthood, not sure if she would ever see Logan again, let alone be back with him, and now here she was calling his apartment home.

A wide smile spread across the brunettes face as she slowly made her way into the kitchen. She leaned against the counter for a few seconds, before deciding that she should probably eat. She opened the fridge and stared blankly into the cold interior. Lane wouln't be there for a couple more hours and she hadn't eaten since the night before, even though she wasn't exactly what would be considered hungry, she knew she needed to eat to keep her strength as well as the baby's up. Grabbing a container of strawberry jelly and one of cottage cheese she set them both on the counter. She opened both and took a scoop out of each, slopping them into a bowl that looked like it costway more than all the clothes Rory had on at the current time. Knowing Logan it probably did, that and it was probably something he didn't pick out. She stirred her creation together, stuck the containers back in the fridge and made her way to the dining room table to eat her breakfast. As soon as she was seated her phone beeped alerting her to text message.

Opening it, she saw that it was from her mother.

"Loinfruit. I would love to come see you tomorrow. Luke has someone working at the diner, and I don't have any meetings. Can we come take you to lunch?"

A warm feeling spread through the young womans body as a smile spread across her face as she responded back to the woman who had given her life. "Sounds good. Call when you are on the way."

Feeling a little bit better about this whole bed rest thing, Rory finished her food and texted Lane to make sure she was still coming before she put her dishes in the sink, started the dishwasher even though it was only half full. She wandered back to the bedroom and prepared to find an outfit for the day.


	41. Chapter 41

"Oh my god, you're huge." Lane squealed as she hugged Rory and then entered the apartment. Her arms were loaded down with bags, which Rory helped her set on the dining room table as they made their way inside.

"I know. It was like overnight, all of sudden." Rory laughed. As she surveyed the bags that she had just disentangled from her childhood best friends arms she raised an eyebrow. "Are you moving in?" she joked.

Lane shook her head and laughed. "No. As soon as Zack heard that you were moving in with Logan he decided that you needed all the leftover baby stuff from when the twins were little. Well at least the gender nuetral things."

Rory smiled and laughed at her best friends husband. "Of course he did. But do you guys not want anymore kids?"

Lane shrugged as she slowly pulled a bag in front of herself on the table and pulled what seemed like an endless amount of bibs out of it and stacked them on the table before looking back at her friend. "I don't know if we are going to ever have another one. The boys are so old now, and I don't know if I have the energy to do the baby stages again."

Rory frowned, she had always figured that her best friend would try to have a girl at some point. She shrugged and tilted her head. "If you wanna talk about it, you know I'm here right?" She asked, trying to show how much she cared.

Lane sighed softly and nodded, squeaking out a thank you before she changed the subject. Today was about Rory and making sure she had fun while she was on bedrest or at least as much fun as one could have on bedrest. "So. I brought all kinds of bibs, blankets, and there's a baby carrier in one of the bags. It's always best to get someone to help you get the baby in and out of it the first couple of times or it could be disasterous."

Rory chuckled, "Oh I remember when you called me to get me to held untangle you from the kitchen chairs and the baby carrier."

Lane laughed. "Yeah, there's a story Steve doens't need to learn till he's much older." The two women talked for a few more minutes as they went through the rest of the bags Lane had brought with her. After they had gone through everything and made stacks of all the goodies that Rory's friend had brought they decided to order food and and watch a movie.

One of the traits that Rory had picked up from her mother was the collecting of take out menus. So when the two women went to order food, there were thirty or forty splayed out on the dining room table. Since Rory was on a semi strict diet, they landed on a burger place. Lane ordered a cheeseburger with onion rings and a chocolate shake, while Rory orderd a salad with fried chicken strips and lots of ranch dressing. Lane was just as shocked as everyone else in Rory's world that she had ordered something healthy.

While they waited for their food to arrive, they settled onto the couch in the living room and scrolled through several girly movies that were available on Netflix before deciding on Nights in Rodanthe. They continued to talk about random small talk as the movie started playing. Rory felt a nagging feeling that something wasn't right in her best friends life. Turning the volume down on the movie she adopted a more serious look on her face and turned to her friend. "Talk to me Lane, I can tell somethings wrong." She paused. "You've never kept anything from me."

Lane sighed and looked away before meeting Rory's gaze with her own. "Zack and I haven't...exactly been seeing eye to eye on another kid. After the twins were born he wanted another one or two of kids. And even up until a few months ago he was still deadset on us having a girl, or at least trying for a girl." She sighed and slumped back into the couch, raising her legs up to her chest before continuing. "And then all of a sudden, he started saying things like we didnt have time for another one and it wasn't fair to the boys to have another one." Lane sighed and dabbed at her eyes.

"Have you told him how you feel about it?" Rory asked, not quite sure what to ask or what to say.

"We've talked kind of. But he always gets so weird when I try to talk to him about it and he will talk for a few minutes and then change the subject or say he doesn't want to talk about it and walk away."

Rory frowned and nibbled her lip as she thought of what to say back to Lane. "I'm so sorry I had no idea. You should of said something to me before now. I feel like such a bad friend because you didn't say anything, or I was too lost in my own little world to see that something was wrong before now."

Lane chuckled through the tears and looked at her friend. "It's not your fault, you have a ton going on. Reuniting with your prince charming. A scary pregnancy and everything else you have going on."

Rory shurgged. "Still. I had no idea that things were so rough with you and Zack right now. "

Lane shook her head and looked at Rory. "That's the weird thing, things aren't bad between us. The only thing that we ever even have disagreements over is another baby."

Rory frowned and reached over patting her best friends hand. "Well, maybe things will change. I don't know how to tell you what to say. I kind of just showed up at a hospital when Logan's dad was sick and one thing led to another and then all of a sudden he knew we were having a baby and he's been exceptionally great about everything ever since."

Lane laughed. "Who would of thunk that that the heir of the multi billion dollar company would be such an awesome guy when it comes to being a daddy."

Rory laughed softly. " I know it wasn't really what I was expecting either. But I am so glad that it has turned out this way." She paused for a minute. "You know if you wanna talk more about Zack we can."

Lane nodded. "I know, but I don't know what else to say right now."

"Understandable. Just letting you know."

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door alerting the girls that food had arrived. Lane jumped up, telling Rory that lunch was on her and that she needed to sit still and worry about keeping comfortable. Rory tried to protest but Lane kindly pushed her back down onto the couch before making her way to the door.

"Eat up!" She said with a grin as she spread the food out a matter of minutes later.


	42. Chapter 42

"Honey I'm home." Logan called in a sing song voice as he entered the house a little after six pm. Rory turned and looked at him from her perch on the sofa and smiled.

"Well hey there handsome." Rory said, a grin spreading across her face as he neared her. The blonde leaned down and planted a kiss on his girlfriends lips before pulling back and kissing her stomach. "I'm sorry I'm late, traffic was bad and then I stopped and got this." Logan reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a small slim black velvet box. Rory raised an eyebrow as she took it.

"Oooh presents."

Logan laughed and nodded. "Open it."

Rory hesitated a minute before opening the box. What she saw inside amazed her. On a delicate silver chain was a beautifully crafted silver and diamond rocket ship. Tears sprung to the overly emotional pregnant woman's eyes as she looked up at her boyfriend. "It's beautiful."

Logan let out the breath he had been holding and chuckled. "Oh good, I was worried that you wouldn't like it."

Rory laughed and examined the necklace a little closer. "Of course I like it Logan. It's beautiful. This is too much."

Logan took the necklace from Rory so that he could put it around her neck, "C'mere Ace."

Rory stood up with her back to him so that he could put the delicate piece of jewelry on her. Once he had clapsed it firmly in place he spun her around and kissed her softly. "I'm so glad that you like it Ace."

Rory smiled as she left her arms wrapped around Logan. "It's the best present you've ever gotten me." The couple stood intertwined for a few more minutes before Logan kissed the top of her head and broke the silence. "Are you hungry?"

Ace laughed and moved so that she was able to look up into his eyes. "I'm always hungry. Why?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

"I talked to Paris and she said as long as we didn't run a marathon on the way out, that I could take you to dinner. So I was thinking we would go out and have dinner with the guys. That is if you are up to it."

Rory thought for a minute. As much as she wanted Logan all to herself, she had been very lucky and he had spent the majority of the the last several days with her, plus even the rest of the guys from the Life and Death Brigade had been more than sweet with her the last couple of days since she had been admitted to the hospital. A night out with all of them was probably a good idea. She nodded, "Of course. Let me shower and put something a little nicer on before we go out though."

Logan nodded as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and kissed her again. "Go ahead. Ill make reservations and round up the guys."

Rory smiled a she made her to the bathroom that ajoined the master bedroom she shared with Logan. She dug through the small amount of clothes she had brought to the apartment when they decided to do this cohabitating thing, settling on a simple black dress. Since she wasn't hiding her bump anymore, she didn't care that it was pretty form fitting. She found a pair of ballet flats in her bag and coupled that with some undergarments before making her way to the bathroom.

When she emerged the bedroom twenty minutes later, she was showered, dressed, had put on some makeup and done her hair. She was more made up then she had been in days.

Logan whistled and grinned when he turned and saw her. "Well, there's my sexy baby momma."

Rory blushed, it didn't matter how many times that Logan complimented her on her appearance or looks she still blushed each and every time. She strode over to him and grinned. "So where are we going?"

"Well, its just going to be you me, Finn and Robert. Colin is busy, but Robert said there is a little diner a little ways out of town that just opened a couple weeks ago and they have all kinds of bad for you food that seemed right up your alley."

Rory laughed. "Then I might be a little over dressed."

"Nah, keep it on. You look good."

"As you wish." Rory said.

After a few minutes, they had collected everything they needed and were headed out the door. Logan kept his hand on the small of her back as he walked her down to the car.

After a short drive, during which Rory and Logan discussed finding out if the baby was a boy or a girl and the pros and cons of both options, they arrived at the diner Robert had suggested they meet at. Without coming to a concrete decision on if they would or wouldn't find out, they got out of the car and soon found Robert and Finn emerging from one of Finn's cars.

"Well if it isn't the expecting couple." Finn said. Rory couldn't help but laugh at the comment.

"Hi Finn. Hi Robert." Rory said as the space between them closed. She hugged both of them and soon the group of four were headed towards the front door of what looked like a diner straight out of the fifties.

Once they made it inside and were seated Logan looked across the table at Robert and asked. "How did you find this place?"

"Finn had me pick him up here one night when he was really drunk. All I could think about was how Rory like thi place was. Seems like the perfect place for a reunion of most of the members of the Life and Death Brigade."

Rory looked around and smiled. "Another place found because our Finny likes his booze."

"Hey, don't pick on me. We never would of found that doughnut place or the taco stand if I didn't have a extreme liking of drinking and then getting lost."

"Hear Hear." Logan said raising his water glass in a toast.

A basket of chilli fries and another of cheesesticks was ordered as the four friends lapsed into old ways and started discussing memories of days gone by. It always happened the first time the majority of the group were together after being apart for any amount of time. Over the course of the next three hours and six cheeseburgers, two patty melts and four milkshakes the covnersation covered just about every other topic under the sun, including Finn trying to get Rory and Logan to name the baby after him regardless of if they had a boy or girl.

After paying the bill and sharing a few more jokes and memories in the parking lot, the four became two seperate groups of two, Rory and Logan got in his car and Finn and Robert made their way to Finn's and off to whatever adventure the night held for them.


	43. Chapter 43

"I don't know how you do it." Logan said with a smile as he climbed into bed next to Rory several hours later.

"Do what?" Rory asked sleepily from her position propped against several pillows.

"Look as good in a ratty old pair of Yale sweats as you do in a little black dress."

Rory smirked. "Well thank you. Although a little black dress is what got us in the current predictament." She teased as they situated themselves in a comfortable position.

"True. But that was a good dress, and a great night." Logan said with a grin before they both drifted off to sleep.

The next morning Logan was gone before Rory woke up, but there was a note propped up against the lamp of her side of the bed.

"Morning Ace. I hope you slept well. You were sleeping too soundly for me to wake you up. Today will be a early day. I should be home at about four. Have fun with your mom, and Ill cook dinner if you decide what you want and let me know.

-L"

Rory smiled when she read the note, she would text him after she figured out what she wanted. Glancing at the clock on the home screen of her phone she saw that it was just after nine. There was no point in bothering Logan right now. She sent her mom a text message asking what time she and Luke would be there before she went to find her laptop and check her email.

Scrolling through her inbox she saw several spam emails and then a few from Paris. One of them was an attempt to schedule the appointment to find out the gender of her and Logan's baby. She sent a response to Paris saying she would call in a couple of days and they could schedule something. Rory knew even as she sent the email that she was just trying to put it off until her and Logan had made a concrete decision on finding out if the baby was a boy or girl.

After closing her laptop and seeing the message from her mom that said they would be there at noon. The brunette spent a couple mintues moving the baby stuff off the table and into the spare bedroom that would be turned into the baby's room if they stayed living at the current apartment. She sighed, that was another headache that she didn't look forward to dealing with. She stayed in the room for a few more moments before sighing once more and heading back to the master bedroom where she busied herself making the bed for the next several minutes.

Soon Rory found herself in the shower. After a quick scrub, and hair washing she found a pair of leggings and an oversized shirt. Her and Lorelai hadn't discussed where they were going to go for lunch, but with Luke along for the adventure she knew it wouldn't be anywhere too fancy.

After pulling her clothes on, and completing the look with a pair of black converse that took far too long to put on she went to the living room to watch a movie until her mother and step father showed up.

What seemed like only a few minutes later Rory was startled awake to a knock on the door. She wiped the drool off her face and made her way to the door as quickly as her ever expanding stomach would allow her.

Pulling the door open she smiled at her mother and step father. "Did we wake you kiddo?" Luke asked with a smirk curled at the edge of his mouth.

"Yeah, I fell asleep watching a move a little bit ago."

"Well, growing a human is exhausting." Lorelai said as Rory moved aside so her parents could join her in the entry way instead of standing awkwardly in the hallway.

"Where are we going for lunch?" Rory asked after a few minutes of small talk.

Lorelai shrugged. "This is your hood, you have to choose somewhere. And then we figured we'd go to the baby boutique and get a crib for that little nugget." She added as she patted her daughters stomach.

Rory laughed. "What did you have to promise Luke to get him to agree to boutique shopping?" She asked her mother with a slight nod and raise of her eyebrow towards her step father.

Luke laughed, and rubbed his neck. "I'll go to lunch with you, but then I have a meeting at the bank. So you girls will be alone with my credit card to buy baby stuff."

The two Gilmore women laughed as the trio headed out the door. Once they had reached Lorelai's every faithful Jeep, Rory paused. "Since we are going two seperate places after lunch. I'll follow you in my car, and then we can leave straight from lunch, instead of having to come back here."

Luke nodded and as he fished the keys out of his pocket looked to his step daughter. "Wait, where are we going?"

Rory laughed. "There's a chinese place about ten blocks away if you take a left on the next street. Its called Ho Hung Palace."

After another couple of comments, Lorelai and Luke got in the jeep, and Rory got in her own car.

After the short drive, the trio reunited in the nearly abandoned parking lot of the chinese place. Lorelai frowned and looked at Rory. "Are you sure this place is good? It's never a good sign when a eating establishment has no cars in the parking lot."

Rory laughed and reassured her mother. "Don't worry, it's good. This place has been around since I was in college. Logan and I used to come here all the time. They have chinese food, Italian food and hamburgers. It's kind of like Al's but different."

Luke was reassured by the fact that they offered more than just Chinese food. Even though he had become accostomed to his wife's odd eating habits. He still prefered more simple food most of the time, especially if he wasn't the one cooking. Together the three of them made their way into the gaudily decorated resturaunt.


End file.
